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GERMANY, 

ENGLAND, AND SCOTLAND; 



OR, 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A SWISS MINISTER. 



<->Ui 



MERLE D'AUBieNE, D.D. 



Hie enim liber . . . professione pietatis . . . excusatus erit. 

Tacitus. 



LONDON : 
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. 

EDINBURGH: OLIVER AND BOYD. 

DUBLIN: W. CURRY, JUN., AND CO. 

MDCCCXLYIII. 



^f 



London : 

Spottiswoode and Shaw, 

New-street-Square. 



THE AUTHOR 



HIS FRIENDS 



ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND; 



A TOKEN OF CHRISTIAN LOVE. 



A 2 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



In the spring of the year 1845, the author was 
called upon to undertake a journey into Germany 
and Great Britain, for the purpose of drawing 
closer the bonds of union between those countries 
and the Christians of Geneva, and in particular 
with the Evangelical Society of this town. On his 
return, his Genevese friends requested from him an 
account of what he had seen. The author deemed 
it his duty not to refuse this request; and the report 
was made at the end of the winter of 1846, in 
four meetings, which were held either in the great 
hall of the Casino, or in the chapel of the Oratoire. 
In the following year, in the winter of 1847, the 
author was again asked if he had no other commu- 
nications to make, and, therefore, to the recollections 
of his journey, presented on the previous year, he 
added some historical recollections. As the public 
who attended these meetings seemed to think that 
it would be beneficial to publish his statements, 
the author sends them to the press. This work is 
naturally divided into two parts : Travelling Recol- 
lections and Historical Recollections. The author 
is desirous that these sketches should recall him to 

A 3 



VI ADVERTISEMENT. 

the memory of the many dear friends from whom 
he received so kind a welcome ; and to them he 
dedicates his " Recollections/' as a mark of his 
gratitude and affection. He especially desires that, 
by the blessing of God, they may conduce to the 
advancement of His kingdom. 

Eaux Vives, Geneva, December, 1847. 



.TraMagrraavctA xv 

CONTENTS. 

Bid 1o liaca b e Lg99& )J erd 89teoiJ 

^fid* 89iiaab ^Haio9qp.9-9F >9lfe bn& gbirti^rg 

9ffr ot asubnoo \b£k \edt t BoO 1o §aie89ld edt \d 

TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

CHAPTER I. — GERMANY. 

Section I. — Solitary Life. 

The Scientific and the Practical Elements in the Church. 
Transformation - Page 7 

Section II. — First Movement. — Infidelity. 

First Arrival in Germany. Struggles. Kiel and Kleuker. 
Rieu. Exceeding abundantly. Deliverance. Ratio- 
nalismus vulgaris. Emancipation of Mind. Hegel. 
Orthodox and Heterodox Tongues. Strauss. His Suc- 
cessors, Bruno Bauer. Feuerbach, Stirner. Atheism. 
Materialism. Oxford. Friends of Light - - 11 

Section III. — Faith. 

Jubilee of the Reformation in 1817. Festival of the 
Wartburg. Revival of Faith. Practical School. A 
Defect. Doctrine of Election. The Gospel preached 
to the Poor. Scientific School. Its Doctors. Symbolical 
School. Evangelical Gazette. Absolute Conservatism. 
Ecclesiastical School. The Union. The Liturgy. Lutheran 
Movement. Silesia - - - - - 24 

Section IV. — Second Movement. — Christian Societies. 

Society of Gustavus Adolphus. Assembly of Stutgard. 
Universality and Mixture. The two great Principles 
of Protestantism. Different Nationalities and Christian 
Catholicism. Conservatives and Aggressives : Negatives 
and Positives: Externals and Internals. A probable 
Separation - - ~ - = -37 

a 4 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Section V. — Church Principles. 

German Churches. A slow Passage or a Leap. Visit to a 
G-erman Theologian. The Foundation of the Church. 
The Mind and the Body. Radicalism and Conservatism. 
Science and Life. The State and the Church. The 
Monarchical and the Representative Systems. The Ger- 
man, the Roman, and the Genevese Systems. An Evening 
at Stolzenfels. The Inauguration. The King of Prussia 

Page 43 

Section VI. — The German Catholic Question. 

German Catholicism. Manheim, Heidelberg, Stutgard. 
. Worship. Catholicism. Evangelism, Morals. Orthodox 
Minority, Rationalist Majority. Radical Constitution. 
Music and Repasts. The true Baptism of a Church. 
Probable Futurity. M. Gervinus. The Life of Faith. 
Germany stirs. The Vocation of a People. Geneva - 54 

51 .eli J rood 

I 'to gnoisolqza .ikhh& 

CHAPTER II. -ENGLAND. 

Section I. — Religion and the People. 

Arrival. Salutation. Revolution now in progress. Error. 
The Sectarian System. The Latitudinarian. The Chris- 
tian. Popery. The Gardener of the State - -65 

tB noii; 

Section II. — The English. 

Entry into London. Bustle. Practical Tendency. The 
Common People. Public Men. The Youth. Equality 
and Liberty. Wealth. Country Seats and Shops. The 
Aristocracy. British Enthusiasm. Hospitality. Disci- 
pline and Piety - - - - - 74 

Section III. — Defects. 

Bondage to the Comfortable and the Fashionable. The 
Merit of Wealth and Power. Puritanism and World- 



CONTENTS. IX 

liness. Christianity should be manifested in the Flesh. 
Evils of large Properties. An Exception. The Sites. 
Grandeur of the Manufacturing and Mercantile Towns. 
The reverse of the Medal. A human Form in the Strand. 
A Story in a Sermon. Want of popular Instruction. 
Drs. Sack and Luke - Page 85 

Section IV. — Piety and Duty. 



Conscientiousness of a People. Religion necessary to Eng- 
land. Service at Cambridge. Fear of God among the 
People. The Divine Law or Duty. Sunday in Britain. 
The Railroads and the Sunday. Puseyism proceeds 

. from the same Principle - - - 99 

Section V. — The Articles and the Orators. 

Doctrine and Life. Religious Meetings. Capacity of the 
British. Explosions of Eloquence. The Lions of Meet- 
ings in Scotland and England. Preachers - - 110 



-■ 



Section VI. — Union and Separation. 

Christian Union. Breakfast at Liverpool. The Bishop and 
the London Missions. Westminster and the Presby- 
terians.. Hanover Square Rooms and Finsbury Chapel. 
Communion at Geneva. Strength of the Evangelical 
Party - - - - - - 120 

Section VII. — The Reformation of the Church of 
England. 

Two Revolutions : — In Theological Instruction, and 
in Church Government. Convocations. The Shadows. 
Preservation and Transformation. Reform. Intervention 
of Members of the Church. Necessity of Ecclesiastical 
Institutions. Two Armies against Rome. Confidence 
and Error - • - - - - 128 



X CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III.-SCOTLAND. 



Section I. — Edinburgh. 

Germany, England, and Scotland. Crossing England by 
Railway. Arrival in Scotland. Chalmers. Edinburgh. 
The Old and the New Town. The Castle Hill. Holy- 
rood - — -II - - Page 144 

Section II — Scottish Doctrine. 

Difference between the English and the Scotch. Scottish 
Character. A Proof of the Reformation. Importance 
of Doctrine. Spirit and Life. Character of Scottish 
Theology. Basis. Apex - - - - 152 

Section III. — Worship. 

A Sermon. Length. A Farewell Sermon. Liberty. The 
Lord's Supper. Standing or Sitting? Discipline: 
Essential or not ? Public Instruction - - - 158 

_ ' " bnaf top8 

Section IV. — The Church and the Palace. 

Disruption of 1843. State of the Established Church. 
Holyrood and the Lord High Commissioner. The 
General Assembly of the Establishment and the Plat- 
form. Was a Speech necessary ! Dinner at Holyrood 166 

Section V. — The Free Assembly. 

Impartiality. The Assembly Time. The 18th of May and 
Cannon Mills. Our Entrance. A Scottish Assembly. 
Speech of Chalmers. Geneva and Scotland. Popery 
and Erastianism. Bonfires of Straw - - - 173 

Section VI. — Speeches of the Deputies. 

Dr. Gordon, Dr. Macfarlane, Dr. Brown. Fatigue and Re- 
pose - - ■ - - - - - 181 



CONTENTS. XI 



CHAPTER IV. — THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 

Section I. — Two Influences. 

The Produce of Scotland. Development of Being. The two 
Influences. The two Swords. Task of the Reformation 

Page 186 

Section n. — Doctrine. 

Distinctions between the Evangelical and the Moderate 
Parties. Not in Doctrine. Person of Christ. The two 
Natures. The Arminian Question - - - 191 

Section HI. — The two Extremities of the Scale. 

The Church Question. Distinction between Scotland and 
England. Different Origins of their Churches. Scot- 
land considered from the English point of View. Should 
Scotland draw nearer to England, or England to Scot- 
land? - - - - - - - 198 

Section IV. — Church and Government. 

Doctrine of Scotland respecting the Church. Kingship of 
Christ. His Laws. His Ministers. Spiritual and 
Temporal Government. Incapacity of the latter to 
govern the Church ----- 203 

Section V. — Importance of the System. 

Government of Christ opposed to that of Antichrist. The 
Reformation cannot be a mere Negation. The Right of 
Scotland. The two Principles of the Secession : 1st. 
Non-intrusion ; 2d. Spiritual Independence. A Theorem 
and two Corollaries. Essential Cause of the Disruption 207 

Section VI. — A Comparison. 

The Scottish and the Separationist Systems. Differences. 
Complete and Imperfect. Positive and Negative. Doc- 
trine and Discipline. Effectual and Ineffectual. Claims 
of the State - - - - - - 212 



Xll , CONTENTS. 

.• 

Section VII. — A Requisite of Union. 
Three Phases of the Scottish Church. Conscience and 
Expediency. Discord not Union. Accusation. Com- 
plement. The Solar System - - - Page 219 



HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

- 

CHAPTER V. — SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

Sixteenth Century, — Popery. 

Section I. — The Beginning. 

Travellers. History and its Lessons. Two Men at Geneva. 
The Vocation of Scotland. Return of Knox. St. An- 
drews. Triumph of the Reformation. The Church Free 229 

Section II. — A Church and a Queen. 

First Book of Discipline. Election of Pastors. Mary 
Stuart. Opposition. League of Bayonne. The Holy- 
rood Murder - - - - - - 237 

Section III. — The Tulchans. 

The Church established. Spiritual Independence of the 
Church. Death of the Good Regent. Tulchan Bishops. 
Saying of Erskine of Dun - 244 

Section IV. — The Courtiers and a Minister of God. 

The Book of Policy. James, Lennox, and Arran. Arch- 
bishop Montgomery. Act against Civil Admission. 
Protest of the Assembly. Melville before the King. 
James yields - - - - .T-83: - 249 

Section V. — King James and Presbyterianism. 
The Black Acts. Protest. Protestant Reaction. Presbyte- 
rian Speech of the King. Ecclesiastical Charter of 1592 258 

Section VI. — Two Kings and Two Kingdoms. 

New Reaction. Deputation to the King. Andrew Melville. 

Dangers. Strength and Courage - 262 

£62 8i9iaj3fi9voO orIT .aoitemiotaH b 



CONTENTS. Xlll 



CHAPTER VI. — SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 



Seventeenth Century. — Prelacy of Laud. — Part I. 
- 
Section I. — Klng-craet. 

Utility of History. Maxim of James. Basilicon Doron. 
King-craft. G-eneral Assembly gained over. Represen- 
tation in Parliament. Northern Legion. The King 
prevails. James, King of England. Assembly of Aber- 
deen. Persecution - Page 266 

Section H. — A Free Minister and a Servile Church. 

Welsh Minister of Ayr. Six Ministers before the Jury. 
Welsh's Speech. Letter to Lilias Graham. The parting 
at Leith. Welsh in France. Acts of 1610 and 1612. 
The Five Articles of Perth. Welsh and Louis XIH. 
Mrs. Welsh and King James - - - - 272 

Section HI. — The King's Canons and the Imprisoned 
Ministers. 

Charles I. Arminianism and Immorality in Scotland. 
Prelacy of Laud. The Canons. The Two Parties. 
The Inquisition. Rutherford in Prison. The Service 
Book brought into Edinburgh - 280 

Section IV — The Covenant. 

23d July, 1637. The Service Book interrupted. Interdict. 
Agitation. Orders of the King. Complaint against 
Bishops. Fast. 28th of February, 1658. The Covenant 
signed. Livingstone. The Highlands. Grutli - 283 

Section V. — Second Reformation. 

Hamilton. General Assembly called. The Bishops accused. 
The Lord High Commissioner withdraws. Firmness of 
the Assembly. Second Reformation. The Covenanters 292 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Section VI. — War and Peace. 

Westminster Assembly. Election of Pastors. Abolition 
of Patronage. Charles II. called. Ireland and Scotland. 
Resolutionists and Protesters. Ten Years of Peace. 
Spiritual Warfare - Page 300 

CHAPTER Vn. — SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

Seventeenth Century — Prelacy of Laud. Part n. 

Section I. — The First Martyrs. 

Individualism and Catholicism. Babylonish Captivity. 
23d August 1660. Middleton and his Parliament. 
Martyrdom of Argyle. Of Guthrie. Of Govan - 308 

Section H. — The Disruption. 

Act of 1662. The Four Prelates. Order to the Ministers. 
Journey and Banquets. Act of Glasgow. Resolution 
of the Ministers. The last Sunday. John Welsh. 
Blackadder. Peden - - - - - 316 

Section III. — Curates and Garrisons. 

Delay Granted. The Curates. Their Arrival. Cavaliers 
and Footmen. Before and After. Co-operation of the 
Curates and the Garrisons. Soldier Judges. A mili- 
tary Expedition ----- 326 

Section IV — Tyranny and Indulgences. 

Middleton dismissed. High Commission Court. Pentland. 
Execution of M'Kail. First Indulgence. Act of 1669. 
Second Indulgence and Blair. Retreat of Leighton - 334 

Section V. — Fainting of the Church. 

Presbyterian Conventicles. Cameron. The Duke of 
York. Spirit. Scarcity of the Word. Excommunica- 
tion by Cargill. The Duke of Rothes - - - 343 



CONTENTS. XV 

Section VI. — The Killing Time. 

Testimony of Marion Harvey. Death of Cargill. The 
Murderous Time. Declaration of 1684. The Sea and 
Margaret "Wilson. John Brown and Claverhouse. 
General Persecution j - - - - Page 352 

Section VII. — The Revolution. 

Designs of James IT. Peden's Wanderings. Act of Tole- 
ration. The last Martyr. The Pope's God-son. Re- 
volution of 1688. Restoration of Presbyterianism and 
Abolition of Patronage. Communion of Saints. New 

Period and New Arms - - - - 364 

- J 

CHAPTER Vffl. — SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 



A 



Section I. — Union and Patronage. 






Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century. Patronage. Awaken- 
ing and Sleep. Union of England and Scotland. 
Fundamental Condition. The Jacobites and the Pre- 
tender. The Jacobites abolish Patronage. Alarm 
of Scotland. An Old Iniquity - - -377 

Section II. — Robertson's Period and Moderatism. 

Worldliness and Arminianism in the Church. Protesting 
for Seventy-two Years. Moderatism. Ebenezer Er- 
skine. Robertson and his Times. Thomas Gillespie. 
Military Intrusions. Nigg. A solemn Appeal. Uni- 
tarianism enters the Church - - - - 386 

Section in. — Chapters' Period and the Veto. 

Transition. French Revolution. Missions. The Chal- 
mers' Period begins. His First Motion in 1833. In- 
crease of Evangelical Ministers. The Veto in 1834. 
Two Solutions. A Falsehood in the Church. Another 
"Way. Sufferings of the Church. Pastoral Relation- 
ship. Argument of Chalmers. An ignorant Christian. 
Politicians at first favour the Veto. Its Effects - - 394 



XVI CONTENTS. 

Section IV. — Auchterarder and Marnoch. 

A strong Opposition formed. Auchterarder and Mr. 
Young. An Enormity. Marnoch and Mr. Edwards. 
Dr. Candlish's Motion. The Sword drawn. Revivals. 

L Edwards settled at Marnoch. The Congregation with- 
draws. Feelings of Scotland - Page 412 

Section V. — The Third Reformation. 

Dr. Buchanan's Motion. Petitions. Decision of the 
Moderate Party. 25th August. Diplomatic Negotia- 
tions. Chalmers against the Encroachments of the Civil 
Courts. Claim of Rights. A Church in one Day - 423 

Section VI. — Struggles of the Church and State. 

Decision of the House of Lords. Scotland prepares. Con- 
vocation of the 17th November. Address to the People 
of Scotland. Answer of the Government. Its Mis- 
take. Appeal of Chalmers. Reply of the People. 
Decision of the Commons - - - - 431 

Section VII. — The Disruption. 

Dilemma. 18th May, 1843. Concourse of People. St. 
Andrews. The Protest. The Exodus. Deputations 443 

Section VIII. — The Free Church. 

Cannon Mills. Chalmers first Moderator of the Free 
Church. Deed of Demission. Ministers leave their 
Manses and Churches. Vital Preaching. Sites for the 
Wilderness. Efforts of the Christian People. Six 
Hundred Churches. Benmore and the Free Church. 
No Recoil. The Procession, Cannon, &c. &c. - - 459 



APPENDIX. 

Protestantism in the German Provinces of Russia - - 475 

The Lutherans and the Moravians 485 

Conversions to the Greek Church ----- 490 
The Synod, or Peace - 497 



PART I. 

TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 



GERMANY, 
ENGLAND, AND SCOTLAND. 



PART I. 

TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

I have been requested to give some account of the 
journey I undertook in the year 1845. The task 
imposed on me is not easy : for on the one hand 
it is both disagreeable and perilous to speak of 
one's-self ; while, on the other, a vague dissertation 
filled with generalities can have but little interest. 
I am thus placed between two shoals, and incur 
the risk of being either ridiculous or dull : I will 
do all in my power to steer clear of the first, but 
I cannot promise to avoid the second. 

My journey occupied four months, which were 
divided, in pretty equal portions, among three 
countries, — England, Scotland, and Germany. 

These three nations have each an individual 
character ; for the people of England and of Scot- 
land, though united under the same government, 
are nevertheless essentially different. 

B 2 



4 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

I might easily state their distinguishing charac- 
teristics ; but I remember, that however great may 
be the differences which separate nations, that 
which they have in common is of still higher im- 
portance. All are alike in some essential points, 
and participate in their estrangement from that 
God who ought to be the centre and the life of all. 
It may be said of each of them, " The people weary 
" themselves for very vanity," (Hab. ii. 13.): and 
also, " There is neither Jew nor Greek, in Christ 
" Jesus." All nations are called upon to rise 
and look forward to that restoration which the 
God-man came to bestow upon the new race of 
whom He was made the Saviour and the King. 
" There shall be a root of Jesse," saith the pro- 
phet ; "to it shall the Gentiles seek." 

The human race may be compared to an im- 
mense temple ruined, but now rebuilding, the 
numerous compartments of which represent the 
several nations of the earth. True, the different 
portions of the edifice present great anomalies ; but 
yet the foundation and the corner-stone are the same. 
All spring from the same level, and all should be 
directed to the same end. The walls of the building 
have been thrown down, and the stones scattered 
by a great earthquake ; yet a mighty Architect has 
appeared, and his powerful hand is gradually raising 
the temple-walls. The only difference between 
one side of the edifice and the other is, that here 
the restoration is somewhat farther advanced, while 
there it is less forward. Alas ! some places are still 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

overgrown with thorns, where not a single stone 
appears. Yet the Great Architect may one day 
look down on these desolate spots, and there the 
building may suddenly and rapidly spring up, 
reaching the summit long before those lofty walls 
which seem to have outgrown the others, but 
which are still standing half-raised and incomplete. 
" The last shall be first." 

The discriminating features of the several fami- 
lies of mankind, the regenerating principle among 
the numberless races of the earth, do not consist 
in a greater or less proportion of natural talent, 
in different degrees of political advancement, or in 
closeness of attachment to their ancient national 
traditions. All these may indeed be of some conse- 
quence ; but the essential point is their degree of 
participation in those heavenly influences which 
alone can call the dead mass of humanity to life ; 
and in short, their interest in the person and work 
of the Kedeemer. The heathen are on the lowest 
steps ; next come the Moslem ; then those Christian 
nations most unacquainted with the doctrine of 
free grace ; and, lastly, those among which there is 
a people who are able to say, " The foundation is 
" Jesus Christ." These evangelical nations are the 
capital of humanity — a capital, alas! still meagre 
and incomplete ! 

These are general principles that we must not 
lose sight of in contemplating the three countries 
of which I am to speak, — England, Scotland, and 
Germany. The worldly-minded traveller sees little 

B 3 



b TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

but diversities and contrasts: the Christian tra- 
veller should especially notice relations and iden- 
tities. I may add, that the three nations I have 
mentioned are perhaps the three most illustrious 
branches of the evangelical Christian family. These 
pages are a mark of the affection I bear them ; and 
even when speaking of the faults I may have met 
with, my doing so with freedom should be regarded 
as an additional proof of my love and esteem for 
them. 

Nunquam te fallant animi sub vulpe latentes. 

Quinctilio si quid recitares ; Corrige, socles. 

Hoc, aiebat, et hoc. . . 

Si defendere delictum, quam vertere, malles : 

Nullum ultra verbum aut operam insumebat inanem ? 

Quin sine rivali teque et tua solus amares. 

Horat. ad Pisones, 1. 437. 



CHAPTER I. 

GERMANY. 

1. Solitary Life. The Scientific and the Practical Elements in 
the Church. Transformation.— 2. First Movement. Infidelity, 
First Arrival in Germany. Struggles. Kiel and Kleuker. 
Rieu. Exceeding abundantly. Deliverance. Rationalismus 
vulgaris. Emancipation of Mind. Hegel. Orthodox and 
Heterodox Tongues. Strauss. His Successors, Bruno Bauer, 
Feuerbach, Stirner. Atheism. Materialism. Oxford. Friends 
of Light. — 3. Faith. Jubilee of the Reformation in 1817. 
Festival of the Wartburg. Revival of Faith. Practical 
School. A Defect. Doctrine of Election. The Gospel 
preached to the Poor. Scientific School. Its Doctors. 
Symbolical School. Evangelical Gazette. Absolute Con- 
servatism. Ecclesiastical School. The Union. The Liturgy. 
Lutheran Movement. Silesia. — 4. Second Movement, Chris- 
tian Societies. Society of Gustavus Adolphus. Assembly, of 
Stutgard. Universality and Mixture. The two great Prin- 
ciples of Protestantism. Different Nationalities and Christian 
Catholicism. Conservatives and Aggressives : Negatives 
and Positives : Externals and Internals. A probable Sepa- 
ration. — 5. German Churches. A slow Passage or a Leap. 
Visit to a German Theologian. The Foundation of the 
Church. The Mind and the Body. Radicalism and Con- 
servatism. Science and Life. The State and the Church. The 
Monarchical and the Representative Systems. The German, 
the Roman, and the Genevese Systems. An Evening 
at Stolzenfels. The Inauguration. The King of Prussia — 
6. German Catholicism. Manheim, Heidelberg, Stutgard. 
Worship. Catholicism, Evangelism, Morals. Orthodox 
Minority, Rationalist Majority. Radical Constitution. Music 
and Repasts. The true Baptism of a Church. Probable 
Futurity. M. Gervinus. The Life of Faith. Germany 
stirs. The Vocation of a People. Geneva. 

I. 

SOLITARY LIFE. 

On leaving Switzerland my course lay among the 
mountains of the Black Forest, where I visited 

B 4 



8 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Konigsfeld, a little Moravian congregation, which 
has established its contemplative life, its quiet 
manners, and its pious chaunts, amid that wild and 
gloomy scenery. Even this is characteristic of 
Germany. Thence I repaired to Heidelberg, now 
resuming its place as a centre of theological science, 
— and then came down the Rhine. 

I had spent six years in Germany, from 1817 to 
1823, first as a student, afterwards as a pastor, and 
I can never revisit it without again feeling myself 
among the friends of my best years. 

The German has several features which distinguish 
him in a striking manner from the Englishman and 
the Scotchman. He lives within himself; he seems 
born for the ideal world. His faith, when he has 
any, is rather in his head than in his heart, and 
he easily loses himself in mysticism. He feeds 
upon the ideal ; he seeks out the first principles of 
things, their general laws, their essence. Systems 
of philosophy succeed one another in his country 
more rapidly than forms of government with the 
people most changeable in politics. 

While elsewhere the life of man assumes more 
and more a public character, the German leads a 
solitary existence. He lives in his study, from 
the window of which, late and early, the light of 
his lamp is seen shining. A friend of mine, a 
Frenchman by birth, who resides in a university 
town, opposite one of the professors, said to me, 
" That is a singular man ; I really do not know 
" when he sleeps ; his lamp is always burning 1 " 



GERMANY. \) 

The Germans are a people to be taken separately 
and singly; they have seldom or never hitherto 
formed into groups and parties ; and it may be said 
of Germany, as regards the empire of thought, 
what the Bible said of Israel at one period, with 
regard to social order — " In those days there was 
" no king, but every man did that which was 
" right in his own eyes." 

Germany, although some may think the contrary, 
is, in many respects, the country of individualism ; 
the church, therefore, which is the concentration 
and organisation of Christian individuals, is yet in 
a state of infancy. One evening last summer, 
being at the house of one of the most distin- 
guished German theologians, who had invited me to 
meet some of his colleagues, I was speaking of 
England and Scotland, which I had just left, and of 
what was doing there. My entertainer, who listened 
to me with much interest, said, " We in Germany 
u have a science, but we have no Church." This is a 
characteristic remark. 

A science and no Church ! There are, in fact, two 
elements necessary to the progress of Christianity 
— the scientific and the practical. If the develop- 
ment of the latter is the task God has imposed 
upon Britain, where ecclesiastical life is so powerful, 
the development of the former has fallen to the lot 
of Germany. It is only to be wished that she would 
perform it with more respect for the source of all 
science — the Word of God. 

Hitherto the German has been contented to live 



10 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

alone at his ease, among his own ideas, his own 
faith ; perhaps even, in some cases, his own errors. 
Faithful to the character of the ancient Germans, 
he seeks, not indeed in the seclusion of forests, but 
in the mysterious depths of his own mind, some 
undefined divinity which he worships. Deorumque 
nominibus appellant secretum Mud, quod sola reve- 
rentia vident* But a new epoch has now begun : 
throughout Germany, individualities are tending 
to unite and form into groups. The scattered 
members are here and there collecting into a body. 
The bones are gathering together, according to the 
prophecy of Ezekiel; sinews are coming upon them, 
flesh is growing, and soon they will stand upon their 
feet, an exceeding great army. 

It is interesting to watch how this transformation 
is taking place in Germany ; how, from isolated ex- 
istences, she is advancing to a single concentrated 
existence. It is a remarkable phenomenon. But 
there is another in Germany still more so, — the 
transformation, in which faith succeeds unbelief. 
This phenomenon, unhappily, is not general; yet, 
though there are beyond the Rhine manifestations 
of infidelity more striking than ever, I am per- 
suaded that the movement towards the truth will 
be stronger still. 

There are, thus, two movements in Germany 
which I would point out. In the first the opposite 
poles are unbelief and faith; in the other, indi- 
vidualism and the Church. 

* Tacit, de Mor. Germ. 



GERMANY. 11 

II. 
FIRST MOVEMENT. — INFIDELITY. 

My first visit to Germany was in 1817, imme- 
diately after my consecration to the ministry of 
the Word of God, and with the design of studying 
theology for a longer period before entering upon its 
active duties. I spent some time as a student at the 
Universities of Leipsic and Berlin ; afterwards, four 
years in Hamburg, as pastor of the French church. 
My arrival in Germany was rendered remarkable 
by a circumstance connected with my inward 
life. I was stunned — almost overwhelmed, by the 
tempest of rationalism and infidelity which was 
then raging. After having remained in the cheer- 
less principles of Unitarianism until nearly the 
conclusion of my studies at the academy of Ge- 
neva, I had been seized by the Word of God. I 
had believed in the divinity of the Saviour, in 
original sin, the power of which I had experienced 
in my own heart, and in justification by faith. I 
had experienced the joys of the new birth. I was 
yet, however, weak: I was willing to take up the 
Cross of Christ ; but I preferred regarding it as 
wisdom rather than foolishness. It was at this time 
that I arrived in Germany. Every theological 
journal I read, every book I looked into, almost 
every one, both ministers and laymen, whom I met, 
were affected with Rationalism, so that the poison 
of infidelity was presented to me on all sides, 



12 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

I then entered upon a fearful spiritual struggle, 
defending with my whole strength my still feeble 
faith, yet sometimes falling under the blows of the 
enemy. I was inwardly consumed. There was 
not a moment in which I was not ready to lay down 
my life for the faith I professed; and never did. I 
ascend the pulpit without being able to proclaim, 
with fulness of faith, salvation by Jesus. But 
scarcely had I left it, when the enemy assailed 
me anew, and inspired my mind with agonising 
doubts. I passed whole nights without sleep, crying 
to God from the bottom of my heart, or endea- 
vouring, by arguments and syllogisms without end, 
to repel the attacks of the adversary. Such were 
my combats during these weary watchings, that I 
almost wonder how I did not sink under them. 

It happened at this time (1819) that a friend of 
mine*, settled in Paris, was on the point of visiting 
Copenhagen, where his mother's family resided. 
Another friend of ours, Charles Rieu, was the pastor 
of Fredericia in Jutland. We were all three Ge- 
nevese ; we had studied together at Geneva ; and 
had come at the same time to the knowledge of 
the truth, although Rieu had outstripped us in all 
respects, especially in the simplicity of his faith 
and devotedness to the Lord. We agreed to travel 
together to Copenhagen, and to meet at Kiel, the 
capital of Holstein. 

Kiel is a German university, and at that time was 
the residence of Kleuker, one of the oldest cham- 
* The Rev. Frederic Monocl. 



GERMANY. 13 

pions of German divinity, who had been for forty 
years defending Christian revelation against the 
attacks of infidel theologians, in apologetic works of 
some celebrity. There were many passages of Scrip- 
ture which stopped me, and I proposed visiting 
^Qeuker and asking him to explain them, hoping by 
this visit to be delivered from my agonising doubts. 
Accordingly I waited on Kleuker, and requested 
that learned and experienced Christian to elucidate 
for my satisfaction many passages whence some of 
his countrymen in their writings had drawn proofs 
against the inspiration of Scripture and the divine 
origin of Christianity. The old doctor would not 
enter into any detailed solution of these diffi- 
culties. " Were I to succeed in ridding you of 
" them," he said to me, " others would soon arise : 
if There is a shorter, deeper, more complete way of 
" annihilating them. Let Christ be really to you 
" the Son of God, the Saviour, the Author of 
" Eternal Life. Only be firmly settled in His grace, 
" and then these difficulties of detail Avill never stop 
" you : the light which proceeds from Christ will 
" disperse all your darkness." 

The old divine had shown me the way ; I saw 
it was the right one, but to follow it was a hard 
task. God, who had already revealed to me the 
glory of His well-beloved Son, did not forsake me ; 
but He used another agency to bring me to the 
mark which had been pointed out. 

As steam-boats were not at that time very re- 
gular, we had to wait some days for the one in 



14 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

which my friends and I intended proceeding to 
Copenhagen. We were staying at an hotel, and 
used to spend part of our time in reading the Word 
of God together. M. Monod and I chose Rieu for 
our chaplain. He was an ear of corn which the 
Lord had early brought to full maturity, and which 
was soon after carried to the everlasting garner. 
Two years after, I wept over his grave amidst his 
desolate flock, with whom I celebrated the death of 
the Lord. I was at this time at Kiel, enjoying my 
last converse with this much esteemed friend. We 
all three communicated to each other our thoughts 
on reading the Word, but it was Rieu who most 
abundantly brought out the hidden riches of the 
Book of God. 

We were studying the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
and had got to the end of the third chapter, when 
we read the two last verses : " Now unto him who 
" is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
" that we ask or think, according to the power that 
" worketh in us, unto him be glory," &c. This 
expression fell upon my soul as a mighty revelation 
from God. " He can do by His power," I said 
to myself, " above all that we ask, above all even 
" that we think, nay, exceeding abundantly above 
" all ! " A full trust in Christ for the work to 
be done within my poor heart now filled my soul. 
We all three knelt down, and, although I had 
never fully confided to my friends my inward 
struggles, (for I dared not make them known to any 
but to God alone,) the prayer of Rieu was filled 



GERMANY. 15 

with such admirable faith, as he would have uttered 
had he known all my wants. When I arose, in 
that inn room at Kiel, I felt as if my " wings were 
" renewed as the wings of eagles." From that time 
forward I comprehended that my own syllogisms 
and efforts were of no avail ; that Christ was able 
to do all by His " power that worketh in us ; " and 
the habitual attitude of my soul was to lie at the 
foot of the Cross, crying to Him, " Here am I, 
" bound hand and foot, unable to move, unable to 
" do the least thing to get away from the enemy 
" who oppresses me. Do all thyself. I know that 
" thou wilt do it, thou wilt even do exceeding 
" abundantly above all that I ask." 

I was not disappointed. All my doubts were 
soon dispelled, and not only was I delivered from 
that inward anguish which in the end would have 
destroyed me, had not God been faithful; but 
the Lord " extended unto me peace like a river." * 
Then I could " comprehend with all saints what is 
" the breadth, and length, and depth, and height ; 
" and know the love of Christ which passeth know- 
" ledge." f Then was I able to say, "Keturn unto 
" thy rest, my soul ; for the Lord hath dealt 
"bountifully with thee." J 

If I relate these things, it is not as my own 
history — not the history of myself alone — but 
of many pious young men, who in Germany, and 
even elsewhere, have been assailed by the raging 

* Isaiah, lxvi. 12. f Ephes. \\\, is, 19. 

% Psalm, cxvi. 7. 



16 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

waves of Rationalism. Many, alas ! have made 
shipwreck of their faith, and some have even vio- 
lently put an end to their lives. On this account 
I shall always remember the words of Scripture, 
" Thou hast set my feet in a large room."* " He 
" that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."f 

I do not mean to describe Rationalism as I then 
found it in Germany — that rationalismus vulgaris, 
as it has been called, adopting the terminology of 
botany — that edifice which has now nothing left 
to show but here and there a crumbling wall — that 
unbelieving world in which two doctors, who are 
still living, Paulus of Heidelberg, and Wegscheider 
of Halle, were long the Fathers of the infidel church. 
A celebrated theologian (nowindeed too celebrated!) 
has already done this in a work which we are happy 
to have it in our power to praise. I refer to the 
book entitled " A Historical Inquiry into the pro- 
" bable Causes of the Rationalist Character lately 
" predominant in the Theology of Germany, by E. 
" B. Pusey, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. 
" London, 1828." 

But this worn-out Rationalism has been suc- 
ceeded by a new one. The tree is withered ; but 
from its roots has sprung an offshoot, which seems 
likely to extend its branches still farther than the 
old one. . I mil, therefore, say a few words of this 
more modern Rationalism, which I found in Ger- 
many at the time of my journey in 1845. My 
remarks will be a short supplement to the work 

* Psalm, xxxi. 8. t l Cor - i: 3L 



GERMANY. 17 

of the celebrated divine before mentioned, with 
whom, however, I would in no way compare my- 
self. I know not whether, during his residence in 
Germany (which as to time corresponds, I think, 
with my own), he suffered, like me, from the attacks 
of Rationalism. If such was the case, as it well 
might be, Dr. Pusey, I presume, made his escape 
through tradition ; while I, as has been seen, was 
saved by the TTord of God. The weaker of the 
two found the stronger support. 

The political hopes which Germany entertained 
in 1813, 1814, and 1815, having been disappointed, 
and the religious movement not having been suc- 
cessful in renewing the church, the more serious 
Germans were driven back upon themselves. The 
emancipation of the state and the church having 
failed, they turned to the emancipation of the mind. 
A philosopher (Hegel) was the great liberator. 
He sought to regenerate the people by the most 
profound speculations. To hiov:, instead of to 
believe, was the grand principle enthroned by the 
great Gnostic of the nineteenth century ; and thus 
he arrived at three great denials, — - the denial of a 
personal God, the denial of a personal Christ, and 
the denial of the personality of man after death. 

The fundamental principle of every pantheistic 
doctrine is the basis of Hegel's religious philosophy. 
The idea of a God is, according to him, a develop- 
ment, by virtue of which the non-existent becomes 
a being (from not to be, to be), from non-ens to msjf 

* Ein sicli Entwickeln von Niclit seyn zu Seyn. 
C 



18 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

We do not find in the system of Hegel the his- 
torical Christ, the God-man of the Bible. Ac- 
cording to him, the appearance of God in the flesh 
took place at a certain time, in order to make 
known the unity of the divine with the human ; in 
order that the finite spirit (man) might recognise 
his unity with God, and know that God has his 
being within him. 

" Christ is merely the first who acknowledged in 
" himself this unity of God and man," says the 
German philosopher. 

" A man must believe in the unity of God and 
" man in the person of Christ, in order that he may 
" recognise the same unity within himself. 

" Christ is not the only God-man, he is not even 
" so in any especial manner. The idea of God-man 
" belongs to all mankind. 

" There is a universal incarnation of God which 
" does not proceed from Christ, and which renders 
" all men essentially equal to Christ." 

Such is Hegel's Christology. 

This philosopher, however, did not pretend to 
substitute philosophy for religion. He knew, as a 
recent writer observed, that in a time of famine, a 
dissertation upon the organs and process of diges- 
tion will satisfy nobody's hunger. But the disciples 
have done what the master could not accomplish. 

He formed two principal schools; that on the 
right hand, which drew nearer to Christianity, and 
that on the left, which rushed into a vulgar pan- 
theism, dressed up in a few scientific terms ; or, 



GERMANY. 1 9 

as these two parties have been called, the orthodox 
and the heterodox tongues. Every adept of the 
latter might now be seen endeavouring to exalt his 
own personality (his ego) by the sacrifice of the 
personality (the ego) of the Divine Being. Each 
would dethrone God to make a god of himself, and 
each presents to us as the ultimate expression of 
Christianity and of Protestantism, the dreams of 
ancient Paganism, or of some obscure sects of the 
middle ages. 

The doctrines of Hegel found at first but few 
adherents among the youth of the German univer- 
sities. It was too profound for the majority of in- 
tellects ; but his disciples soon tried to vulgarise it. 
The mystical lucubrations drawn from the deep 
abysses of the Berlin professor were dispersed abroad 
in a thousand different channels, — in pamphlets, 
newspapers, ladies' books, novels, and poetry. Its 
followers did for Hegelism in Germany, what is 
doing forPuseyism in England, and it soon became 
the gospel of the day.* 

Strauss was the most powerful promoter of this 
pantheistical gospel. Though the notion of sin had 
wholly disappeared from the new German theology, 
there still remained some faint traces at least of the 
doctrine of redemption. In Strauss not a glimpse 
of it is left. " The whole of evangelical history is 
"one great myth — an allegory, the meaning of 
" which is to be sought out. The Christ of the 
" Gospel is," according to Strauss, " the produce of 
* Der Deutche Protestantismus, p. 193. 
c 2 



20 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" the monotheist supernaturalism of the Jewish 
" nation. Here arises a dilemma. Either this 
u Christ Jesus is- a miracle, that is to say, a con- 
" tradiction, or else he has never existed. The 
u latter supposition alone is admitted by the my- 
" thological Christology. Humanity is the Christ 
u in which God incessantly makes himself flesh." 

The work of Strauss popularised the ideas which 
might, perhaps, have remained within the boun- 
daries of science ; and a crowd of idle young men 
rashly yielded to these fatal illusions. Strauss 
possessed, at least, science, method, critical skill, 
and a real talent for exposition. All these were 
now neglected. The essential object was to bring 
forward something strange and startling, and thus 
gain both reputation and money. Wider and 
wider spread the opinions of the youthful pantheist, 
the author of a work on the Rehabilitation of the 
Flesh, who exclaimed, that if the world had never 
heard of God it would have been very happy, and 
would peaceably have enjoyed the intoxication of 
life ! " The fool hath said in his heart there is no 
" God." 

They had gone very far, but the limit was not 
yet reached. The German youth — I mean those 
who were grouped around these doctors — were 
hurrying down a steep descent which terminated 
in the abyss of atheism. This they quickly reached, 
nay, even rushed beyond it. Then began in Ger- 
many a fearful race of intellects, each striving 
to outdo the other in impiety. Scarcely had one 



GERMANY. 21 

of these rebellious spirits reached a certain stage of 
irreligion, when another started off to outrun him, 
and assert falsities still more diabolical. Strauss 
had stripped Christianity of every positive and 
historical element. Bruno Bauer, a theologian 
likewise, went still farther. He stigmatised the 
" theology of the heart," the pectoral theology as he 
called it, and exposed what he termed the theological 
shamelessnesses or indecencies (schamlosigkeiten); 
and, rejecting Christianity altogether, held it up to 
the ridicule of his countrymen. 

A general idea of religion still remained. But 
then came forward Feuerbach, another of those 
champions of impiety, who undertook to deliver 
his nation from the " illusion of religion." And 
scarcely had the wretched man arrived at this pitch 
of atheism, when he was overtaken by another still 
bolder than himself, Max Stirner, who, as he passed 
on, jeered at him, calling him a priest (Pfaffen), 
a superstitious man, seeing that he had allowed 
one idol to subsist : — the love of mankind ! 
" Down," he cries, " down with this superstition 
" also ! Egoism, selfishness ! that is all that is 
" left. Behold the supremo ruler of the world!" 
All these forms of impiety have thus devoured each 
other. Anti-christianism has been swallowed up by 
atheism, and this in its turn by egoism. This 
Satanic principle has asserted itself to be the ulti- 
mate expression of human wisdom. These are 
P clouds without water, carried about of winds ; 
u raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own 

c 3 



22 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" shame : wandering stars, to whom is reserved the 
" blackness of darkness for ever." 

Thus Germany has exhibited within these last few 
years a terrible, yet no doubt a salutary spectacle. 
The great lesson to be derived from it is to yield 
nothing when the truth of God is concerned. If 
we take but one step backwards, we give the first 
impulse to go a hundred, a thousand, and we know 
not what will be the end. 

Infidelity in Germany has not been confined to 
a few obscure writers, obliged to hide themselves 
in some corner, and reduced to communicate their 
blasphemies to a small number of contemptible 
adepts. Such may be the case in England, bat it 
is far otherwise in Germany. These men have 
been listened to with favour by the most cultivated 
classes. In the course of the summer while I was 
in Germany (1845), a great meeting of German 
writers, for the most part infidel, was held at 
Leipsic; and there, one Mr. Jordan, of Konigsberg, 
at a dinner of these literary men, proposed a toast 

to The Atheists! I will not 

repeat the terms, their impiety makes me shudder : 
an icy coldness and dead silence pervaded the 
assembly. 

This modern impiety of Germany has been ac- 
companied by great immorality; and as faith 
is manifested by works of charity, so does atheism 
show itself by the grossest materialism. The young 
German generation have declared in one of their 
organs that " They will be free, throw off as op- 



GERMANY. 23 

" pressive bonds all laws of civil order, of eccle- 
" siastical and religious institutions, and finally 
" emancipate themselves from the yoke of moral 
" principles."* 

It is whispered that a Young German party, 
forming at Oxford, is desirous of planting in Eng- 
land the doctrines of Hegel and of Strauss. I 
do not know the opinions of that new school ; but 
if it belong to the modern German philosophy, it is 
easy to see the course it will follow, and whither 
it will lead England. Oxford would thus pass 
from the extreme of superstition and formality 
(Puseyism) to the extreme of unbelief and mate- 
rialism. I trust that British good sense, — the 
practical sense of Englishmen, — will confine these 
follies to a few men in a few colleges. Yet, let us 
beware. Of all countries Germany is undoubtedly 
the one in which these monstrosities spring up most 
easily, and where they show themselves most 
openly. But if all the friends of Christian religion 
and morality do not increase in decision, holiness, 
and zeal, we may perhaps see them raising their 
heads in every quarter. 

The " Friends of Light " appear to be a mixture 
of the old rationalism and the new. The opinions 
I have hitherto described are more or less indi- 
vidual : but the societies of the Friends of Light 
are associations of infidelity. Rationalism has been 
confined as yet to theological schools ; it is now 

* Der Deutclie Protestantismus, p. 200. 
c 4 



24 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

descending among the people. Since 1841 con- 
ferences have been held, under the banner of 
infidelity, especially in Saxony and Saxon Prussia, 
composed of ministers, schoolmasters, clerks, and 
tradesmen. By degrees these conferences have 
become popular assemblies. One of their chief 
leaders is the Pastor Wislicenus, who once said, 
" Why should not Jesus be the Son of God ? I 
" too am his son ! " Some have protested against 
Wislicenus, others have declared in his favour : the 
dispute is not yet decided. 

All these manifestations have met in Germany 
with a vigorous resistance, of which I must now 
say a few words. 



III. 



FAITH. 



When I arrived in Germany in 1817 a great 
movement was preparing among the people. 

They were hastening as one man to celebrate 
the third centenary jubilee of the Reformation. 
From this epoch may be dated the revival of the 
church, the third reformation of Germany, if we 
may regard the revival in the time of Spener, at 
the end of the seventeenth century, as the second. 

At Frankfort I first learnt how important the 
moment was which I had selected for visiting this 



GEKMANY. 25 

learned land. I was informed that all the youth 
of the German universities were to meet at the 
castle of Wartburg some days before the jubilee, to 
celebrate the memory of Luther. I travelled night 
and day to arrive there in time ; and at eight 
o'clock on the morning of the festival I was set 
down with a friend in the great square of Eisenach, 
at the foot of the Wartburg. A crowd of students, 
dressed in the oddest costumes, filled the place. I 
took part in the proceedings, for my designation of 
Genevese student immediately opened to me the 
gates of that old castle in which the Eeformation 
had been held captive in the person of its prin- 
cipal leader. But, alas ! what called forth the 
enthusiasm of these young men was far less the 
faith of Luther than the reveries of demagogues. 
As for me, I beheld only the monk of Worms within 
the place of his captivity, and the idea of the 
reformer took a powerful hold of my mind. I 
attended divine service in the church of Eisenach, 
and afterwards celebrated at Leipsic the festival of 
the jubilee itself. Wherever I went, memorials of 
the Reformation welcomed me, the bells rang 
out merrily, troops of students were singing, and 
the people were rejoicing : it was then I formed 
the design of writing the history of that great reno- 
vation. 

The thoughts of the German people, and especially 
of the ministers, being thus forcibly carried back to 
the ancient paths, to the writings of Luther, and 
to the Bible itself, found therein truth and life. 



26 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

One of those who contributed more than others to 
this movement was Claud Harms, the celebrated 
archdeacon of Kiel, who published ninety-five theses 
against Rationalism, as an appendix to those of Lu- 
ther against the Papacy. I frequently saw him 
during the time of my ministry at Hamburg. He 
is one of the most respected leaders, of what I shall 
call the Practical school, but which in Germany is 
termed (incorrectly as I think) the Pietist party. 

Faith, which had appeared to slumber, and even 
to have died away in Germany, now revived 
among both people and ministers, in universities 
and in courts. Believers were, no doubt, in a mino- 
rity, but this minority was sufficient to make 
rationalism tremble. 

There were, perhaps, some imperfections in this 
faith, which has been ever since increasing. Two 
elements constitute Christian piety ; the vital know- 
ledge of the sin of man, and of the grace of God. 
Now, the former of these elements is, perhaps, in 
Germany, more powerful than the latter. The 
cause of this, in part at least, is, that while the 
doctrine of innate corruption is frequently brought 
forward, that of election by grace is either unknown 
or disputed. 

In this respect Germany is unfaithful to herself. 
Not only does the Lutheran church in its ancient 
articles affirm, as decidedly as any other, the abso- 
lute incapacity of the natural man, but also most 
faithfully declares the free election of God. This 
election it regards not merely as a general decree, 



GERMANY. 27 

but as a choice which applies individually to every 
one of the elect.* It is not the mere foreknow- 
ledge of God, — that foreknowledge is extended to 
all creatures, says the Formula of Concord, — but 
it is a predestination which appertains only to the 
children of God.f This election not only foresees 
salvation, but is itself the cause of it, and procures 
salvation with all things necessary thereto. J It 
manifests and confirms, in an absolute and unex- 
ceptionable manner, that salvation is through grace, 
and that we are justified without any merit on 
our part, only for the sake of Christ, since we 
were elected in Christ unto eternal salvation ac- 
cording to the counsel of God, before the creation 
of the world, and while we were unable to do any 
thing good.§ As salvation thus rests upon the 
eternal decrees of Gocl, it is therefore infallible, 
" and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
"it." || 

* Deus illo suo auxilio non tantum in genere salutem suorum 
procuravit, verum etiam onmes et singulas personas electorum 
clementer prsescivit, ad salutem elegit, et decrevit, &c. Formula 
Concordia?, p. 603. 

t Prescientia ad omnes creaturas extenditur. JEterna vero 
electio seu prsedestinatio Dei ad salutem tantum ad filios Dei 
pertinet. F. C. p. 610. 

J Electio Dei est causa ipsorum salutis. Eorum salutem 
disponit, procurat, efficit, juvat, promo vet, &c. F. C. pp. 475- 
611. 

§ Cum quidem nihil boni agere adhuc poteramus, secundum 
propositum Dei in Christo, ad seternam salutem electi sumus. 
F. C. p. 618. 

|| Super hanc Dei praedestinationem salus nostra ita fundata 
est, ut infernorum porta? earn evertere nequeant. F. C. p. 475. 



28 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

These are the tenets of the Lutheran church, 
which are misunderstood, and even opposed by most 
of her ministers and doctors.* Happening, there- 
fore, in 1845, to be, with one of the principal theo- 
logians of Germany, (if he is not, indeed, the first,) 
I told him, that Calvinist as 1 was, I was more of a 
Lutheran than the Lutherans themselves ; and that 
I did not think there were three sincere Lutherans 
in all Germany. He smiled ; but, I well remember, 
he did not deny my assertion. 

This forgetfulness of the elective grace of God 
has been most hurtful to Germany, and is one cause 
of the weakness, the hesitation, and the disorders 
which prevail there. The doctrine of election by 
grace is necessary to the strength and the stability 
of faith. We would therefore desire that, on this 
point, Germany should retrace her steps ; that she 
should believe as her fathers believed, and as she 
ought still to believe. " Thus saith the Lord, 
" Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the 
" old paths, where is the good way, and walk 
" therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." 

Yet, notwithstanding this defect in German 
piety, as revived during the last thirty years, it 
must be owned that it has displayed a salutary 
influence. The rationalist clergy had abandoned 
the common people : evangelical piety turned 
towards them. It remembered that through Jesus 
" the poor have the Gospel preached unto them :" 
and this it did. At the epoch of the Reformation, 

* See especially Kollner's Symbolik. 



GERMANY. 29 

the movement in Germany was too little felt among 
the people. Ministers, men of letters, nobles, and 
princes, took the principal parts in it. This cannot 
be said of the present time. Faith has descended 
to the lower ranks of the nation, opened her arms 
to the lowly and the wretched, and quickened 
them by her holy embraces. There are few coun- 
tries of Christendom, perhaps not one, in which 
the Gospel has been brought down to the simple, 
and received by the poor as in Germany. This is 
our trust, when we behold the storm with which 
these pernicious doctrines threaten that country. 

Faith is not the only principle which has with- 
stood infidelity in Germany ; science and theology 
have also come forward, and fearful struggles 
have for some time past been going on. Several 
of the most eminent men in the German univer- 
sities have been of opinion that it was the duty 
of science to establish and fortify that faith, which 
science had shaken and almost annihilated, and they 
set themselves courageously to the task. Neander, 
Nitzsch, Ullmann, Tholuck, Hundeshagen, and many 
more, have marched forward, and are still pressing 
on towards this object by different roads. In this 
learned school some of the doctrines upon inspira- 
tion are rather lax ; they still incline a little through 
exegesis towards rationalism, and a few of the sad 
consequences of this system are now evident. But 
we find in these illustrious men a real faith in 
Christ, and an efficacy of the Holy Spirit working 
in them and by them. They may be called, and 



30 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

I think they call themselves, Rational Believers. 
One of their chief characteristics is their opposition 
to a faith determined and limited by confession 
and creed ; or, at least, if they should admit a con- 
fession of faith, it will not be that of the sixteenth 
century. They would draw up their own, setting 
out from this principle, that a confession of faith 
should represent the expression of evangelical piety, 
and reject the more positive determinations of 
theology. 

The march of these learned Christians towards 
the re- establishment of faith is but slow. They 
have indeed to combat a multitude of prejudices, 
which the rationalist period has left upon the 
German soil ; but there are none of those difficulties 
which their system is unprepared to consider and 
to resolve. They do not content themselves with 
sneering at the doctrines of their adversaries, as 
superficial theologians too often have done ; they 
endeavour to comprehend and refute them, and to 
convince those who profess them. Yet the numerous 
individuals who compose this liberal school vary 
in many respects from each other ; and it is 
somewhat difficult to class them in the same cate- 
gory. All are acquainted with the historical writ- 
ings of Neander, who, looking back over every age, 
skilfully seeks and discovers a living Christianity 
in them all. The System of Christian doctrine by 
Nitzsch is a profound, vigorous, concise theology, 
where Christian faith and Christian life combine 



GERMANY. 31 

in most perfect harmony.* By the means of Tholuck, 
God has turned the most numerous and the most 
infidel of the German universities into a school of 
prophets ; while the exegetical writings of this 
learned man place him, with Olshausen, now de- 
ceased, at the head of German theologians. Ullmann 
enters with science, intelligence, and vigour, into 
all the questions of the day ; and his work upon 
the Impeccability or Anamartesisf of Christ is the 
best contribution of modern times to apologetic 
literature. Hundeshagen has lately joined this 
learned phalanx; and by his excellent work on 
German Rationalism has greatly moved all Ger- 
many, and opened up new ways for her. 

Above this Scientific school we find the Symbo- 
lical and the Ecclesiastical schools. Although dis- 
tinct, yet they approach each other, and seem to be 
gradually intermingling. 

The former of these, the Symbolical School, of 
which Hengstenberg of Berlin is the representative, 
and to which Twesten and some others belong, 
holds essentially to the creeds, the confessions of 
faith of the sixteenth century, the orthodoxy of the 
Reformation. It is, in our opinion at least, more 
pure than the preceding school, both in its prin- 
ciples on the inspiration of the Scriptures, and also 

* I do not mean that I agree in all points with this excellent 
book, particularly with the sentiments expressed by the author 
in the chapters upon Election and Reconciliation, pp. 251. 261. 
266. 269. (4th edition.) 

j" Ayajj.apr)]cng. 



32 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

in its doctrines. Hengstenberg is known by his 
remarkable writings on the Old Testament ; but his 
principal weapon is the famous Evangelical Gazette, 
which he has edited at Berlin ever since 1827. This 
periodical, which appears twice a week, was at first 
essentially a paper for edification ; but it has become, 
especially since 1830, an ecclesiastical and theo- 
logical journal, and from it have proceeded the 
most vigorous blows which have been dealt against 
both the old and the new rationalism. Never, 
perhaps, has any periodical been such an object 
of fear and hatred. Dr. Hengstenberg presides 
at Berlin as a mighty champion, — he deals his 
blows to the right and to the left ; they may 
not always be kept within due measure ; but Chris- 
tian truth, being attacked by so great a multitude 
of different enemies as it is in Germany, to make 
head against them requires one of those powerful 
characters, whose very strength occasionally leads 
them into excess. Perhaps, also, Hengstenberg is 
not free from the fault which absolute Conserva- 
tives are liable to commit. Seeing that his adver- 
saries would destroy every thing, he would preserve 
every thing. The constitutional government of 
Lutheranism is very defective ; the domination of the 
state over the church is carried to a height in Ger- 
many which shocks even moderate Erastians. But 
it would seem that Hengstenberg beholds a great 
dilemma presented to his church : — her present con- 
dition, or the reign of the Friends of Light, — all 
to be kept, or all to be lost ; and however ready to 



GERMANY. 33 

acknowledge what would be an improvement in the 
proposed change, he would rather keep all as it is 
than risk any essential point. There is not in 
Germany a name so hateful to the world as that 
of Hengstenberg ; but posterity will do him more 
justice, and even already, decided Christians in 
every country, and foreigners in particular, make 
him amends by their esteem, for the numerous 
attacks which he is continually forced to endure. 

If the symbolical school has been formed in op- 
position to rationalism in every degree, the eccle- 
siastical school proceeds especially from an opposi- 
tion to the union of the two churches (the Lutheran 
and the Eeformed), provoked by the late King of 
Prussia. 

This union, commenced at the time of the jubilee 
of the Eeformation in 1817, was almost completed 
at the jubilee of the Augsburg Confession in 1830. 
It met at first with great opposition ; and the saying 
of Madame de Stael is well known : "It is two 
" corpses embracing." If the living faith, which 
was then reviving in the church, and which, by 
drawing both the Lutherans and the Eeformed 
nearer to Christ, brought them nearer to each 
other, rendered this union more easy to some, it 
must be owned that most of the ministers and 
churches united because rationalism had swept 
away not only the doctrines which separated the 
two communions, but many of still greater im- 
portance. How could they dispute on the manner 
of communicating in the Lord's Supper with the 

D 



34 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

body of Christ, when they no longer believed that 
Christ " gave his life a ransom for many," and even 
regarded his resurrection as a fable ? 

A powerful reaction, however, soon took place, 
more especially among the Lutherans. They not 
only found doctrines, still dear to many, more or less 
compromised, but they were also shocked with the 
manner in which the union was accomplished. The 
united church needed a common form of worship ; 
but as committees composed of divines could not 
come to an understanding on that point, the 
king himself undertook (in 1822) to compose, 
with the help of his aide-de-camp, a Liturgy, or 
Book of Common Prayer. This was truly cutting 
the knot with the sword of Alexander. At first the 
liturgy was imposed by the king only upon the 
chapel royal and the garrison chapels ; it was 
merely recommended to the rest of the churches. 
Upon this a most animated controversy arose ; 
some finding the liturgy too orthodox, others not 
orthodox enough ; some thinking it too Eomish, 
others too Reformed. Many discovered a political 
element in it which ought to be foreign to the 
church. 

Meanwhile the government persevered in its de- 
sign, using alternately promises and threats to 
get its prayer-book accept Some writers as- 

serted that the king had a right to impose his book 
upon all the churches, by virtue of the territorial 
system, which considers church government as ap- 
pertaining to the functions of the civil power ; so 



GERMANY. 35 

that the prince exercises this government in his tem- 
poral capacity, like any other branch of his sovereign 
authority, and without being in any manner bound 
by the opinion of the church. While such prin- 
ciples were boldly professed, an outcry arose in 
Germany, not so much against the union as in 
favour of the liberty of the church ; and it is to the 
honour of the famous Dr. Schleiermacher, professor 
of Theology at Berlin, that he courageously op- 
posed the subjection of the church to the civil 
power. An ecclesiastical commission was appointed, 
a new revisal of the liturgy was made in 1829, and 
peace was gradually restored. 

But, if opposition on this head had ceased, it was 
to arise with fresh strength on doctrinal points. 
The doctrine of the real presence, or consubstan- 
tiation, again found enthusiastic partisans. It was 
in Silesia especially that this strictly Lutheran 
movement began. When the church of Breslau 
accepted the liturgy, and entered into the union, 
Professor Scheibel opposed it, and rejected the 
union as being an alliance of Christ and Belial. A 
purely Lutheran church formed itself around him. 

Doubtless there was, and is yet, something nar- 
row and exclusive in that Lutheran spirit. In the 
eyes of these doctors, the sacraments administered 
in the Eeformed church are no sacraments at all. 
Still they had a right to religious liberty as well 
as others ; and its refusal is greatly to be deplored. 

An enthusiasm in favour of ancient Lutheranism 
spread over Silesia and Thuringia ; in the former 

D 2 



36 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

country persecution soon began, and pastors were 
suspended and deprived. When the government 
endeavoured to establish the liturgy at Honigern, 
the whole congregation met on the Sunday morn- 
ing round the church, and began to sing hymns, 
and, standing close together, these faithful Lu- 
therans prevented the government officials from 
entering the building, without resorting to vio- 
lence. In several places the magistracy had re- 
course to arms to introduce its liturgy. It was 
a pious prince, Frederic William III., who allowed 
himself to proceed to such extremities ! The pre- 
sent king, in 1845, granted full liberty to the 
ancient Lutherans. 

This party still possesses great strength, and 
is chiefly represented by Dr. Harless, formerly 
of Erlangen, now of Leipsic. With these ancient 
Lutherans, rationalism and the Reformed church 
mean nearly the same thing ; while they identify 
the Lutheran doctrine with that of the Bible. They 
admit many of the doctrines held in England by 
the Puseyites, as baptismal regeneration, and con- 
substantiation in the Lord's Supper ; but they 
maintain justification by faith, and this has saved 
them. 

Such is the first movement now taking place in 
Germany ; and whose two opposite poles are infi- 
delity and faith. 

There is another which I have pointed out ; that, 
whose two poles are individualism and the church. 
I now proceed to sketch some of its characteristics^ 



GERMANY. 37 

IV. 

SECOND MOVEMENT. 

This necessity of concentration, now evident in 
Germany, seems to me to have assumed three suc- 
cessive forms. 

The tendency towards union was first mani- 
fested by Christian societies, or religious associa- 
tions similar to those we have in Switzerland, 
France, and Britain especially. 

In the meanwhile, until German individualism 
melts away into great ecclesiastical unions, the 
people have been making trial of religious associa- 
tions, such as the Bible, and missionary societies, 
with some others. The Bible meetings have given us 
some valuable articles from the pen of Neander; 
and the missionary meetings have contributed every 
where to reanimate the Christian spirit. This has 
been the case more particularly in the grand duchy 
of Baden, and in Wurtemberg, where the powerful 
vo ce of Inspector Hoffmann of Bale has often 
been heard. The Germans seem inferior to our 
British friends in the art of holding large meetings ; 
but they are improving in this respect, as I wit- 
nessed on an occasion of which I am about to 
speak. 

The Bible and missionary societies had only 
united the Christians of a few towns, or of a few 
provinces, and at most of a few countries; the 

D 3 



38 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Germans have now taken another step forward. 
The Society of Gustavus Adolphus has been formed 
for the purpose of uniting the evangelical Chris- 
tians of all Germany. 

This society, founded for the maintenance of 
Protestantism, met at Stutgard on the 2d of Sep- 
tember. I attended in the name of my friends of 
Geneva. At six o'clock in the morning, from the 
towers of the principal church, on which the flag 
of Wurtemberg was hoisted, the melodious hymns 
of Luther, announcing the dawn of an evangelical 
day, resounded all over the town. At eight, an 
immense crowd rushed into the sacred building, 
which was adorned with garlands and boughs. 
Here divine service was to be performed, and its 
lofty aisles already re-echoed with the Hallelujah of 
Handel. At ten, a still greater multitude filled 
another church, where the meeting of the society 
was to be held. Delegates from many different 
countries — from Germany, Switzerland, France, 
Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Transylvania, Por- 
tugal, and even from America and the Indies, — 
were there assembled. There was no doubt that 
confusion which characterises Germany ; there 
were gathered together, pell-mell, all kinds of 
opinions, from Pantheism and Rationalism, to the 
highest doctrines of the faith ; nevertheless, the 
sound doctrines predominated in the meeting. 

The report was read by the secretary, Dr. Gross- 
mann of Leipsic, son of the chairman of the 
meeting. The principles stated by this young 



GERMANY. * 39 

theologian may be considered as the general ex- 
pression of all parties in Germany. Doubtless they 
give these principles different interpretations ; yet 
it is nevertheless important to know what are the 
general ideas under which the Protestant world 
of Germany is now ranging itself. These, then, 
are the tones in which the Society of Gustavus 
Adolphus addressed the Germanic nations : — 
" We shall give an account, gentlemen, of the 
" fidelity with which we hand down to future ages 
" what we have ourselves received. It is neces- 
" sary to the development of mankind, that the 
" moment a new society is founded, certain spiri- 
" tual powers should be bestowed on it. If these 
" forces are weakened, the whole society will be 
" affected, just as unwholesome food weakens and 
" reduces the body. Two of these forces, for which 
u we must now secure a great influence over man- 
" kind (unless we would permit it to be lost for a 
" long series of years), are the grand doctrine of 
" justification by faith, and the exclusive authority 
" of the Holy Scriptures." 

These are certainly sound words : the whole of 
Christianity is comprised in these two points. 

But this was not all : another idea, an idea of 
great importance to our times, was pointed out. 
One of the greatest theologians of Germany, Dr. 
Ullmann of Heidelberg rose, and said in the name 
of the Grand Duchy of Baden, — "At length we 
" behold the manifestation of that living com- 
" munion which unites us as evangelical Christians. 

D 4 



40 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" Yet the German Evangelical Church, however 
" important, is but one member of the whole body. 
" Christianity, far from destroying different na- 
" tionalities, consecrates and sanctifies them : at 
" the same time it hovers over them, and by ele- 
" vating the nations would make of them all one 
" great society of brethren. All nations are called 
" upon mutually to complete each other on the 
" common ground of Christianity. There must 
" therefore exist among them living and personal 
" relations, and evangelical Christians of all nations 
" must see, understand, love each other, and join 
" hands in brotherhood. A church which has 
" given to our age a great example of Christian 
" devotedness and sacrifice — the Free Church of 
" Scotland — has just called us to this. Let us 
" therefore invite the other churches of Christen- 
" dom to found societies similar to ours, and to 
" send their representatives to our General As- 
" semblies." 

Immediately after the motion of Dr. Ullmann, 
we beheld successively ascending the tribune to 
support it, Elvers, judge of the Supreme Court ; 
Sydow, chaplain of the Court of Potsdam ; Dr. 
Schumann, the superintendent; the pastor, Steffen- 
son from Denmark; Dr. Filther, from Louisville, 
in the United States; Zimmermann, the Court 
chaplain ; and Dr. Nitzsch, the distinguished theo- 
logian of Bonn, superior counsellor of the Con- 
sistory ; and all spoke warmly in favour of a great 
evangelical unity. 



GERMANY. 41 

Let us profit by this: let us remember that there 
are in reality but two nations on the earth, — the 
believers and the unbelievers ; and let us not 
allow trifles to separate those who have alike re- 
ceived into their hearts the living faith of the child- 
ren of God. 

I was next called upon to speak. " I am come 
" from Geneva," I said, ii There is here at Stutgard 
" an evangelical meeting to uphold the work of the 
M great Reformation. The town of Calvin cannot 
" hold back. Geneva also is a member of Christ's 
" body. Yes ; from the shores of the Baltic, Gus- 
" tavus Adolphus, the great Protestant warrior, and 
" from the foot of Mont Blanc, John Calvin, the 
u great Protestant divine, should join hands 
" together over all the German people." 

I will not repeat my speech ; it has been printed 
in German, the language in which it was spoken. 
Though declaring that I respected the individuality 
of our friends of the Society of Gustavus Adolphus, 
and honoured their conscientious convictions, I 
thought it right to exhibit to them in what manner 
our evangelical society of Geneva differed from theirs. 
I undertook to point out in a more especial manner 
three principal features. I first showed that we 
proposed not only to preserve the ancient Protestant 
churches, which is the aim of the Society of Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, but that we desired to gain over to 
the Gospel those souls which are still enthralled 
by the yoke of Rome ; thus being aggressives as 
well as conservatives. I added, that our second 



42 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

characteristic was to be, as regards the faith, not 
only negative but positive ; not contenting ourselves 
with merely rejecting the errors of Rome, but 
striving to set up in their room Jesus Christ, his 
eternal Godhead, his expiatory sacrifice, and justi- 
fication by faith in his blood. Lastly, I remarked, 
as the third distinction, that we also desired Chris- 
tian unity ; but, that with us internal unity, the 
unity of faith, took precedence of external unity. 

I learnt with pleasure that after my departure, 
a great number of the most venerable men in Ger- 
many united to form a society, which proposed 
to act on the principles I had pointed out, yet 
without separating themselves from the Society of 
Gustavus Adolphus. I could not have had a more 
satisfactory answer. May God bless this design ! 
I must nevertheless add, that it seems difiicult 
to prevent such conflicting elements, as are to be 
found in this society, from separating at no very 
distant day. If the separation does not proceed 
from the men of faith, the unbelievers will under- 
take it. Is it not written in the Word of God, that 
He divided the light from the darkness ? When a 
society, essentially evangelical, is once established 
in Germany, its action will be much more power- 
ful, and much more blessed. 



GERMANY. 43 



CHURCH PRINCIPLES. 

In this manner is German individualism amal- 
gamating into large associations. But this is not 
all : there is an analogous movement of concentra- 
tion going on at this time within the church. I 
have said, that in Germany there is a science, but 
no church. The people wish for a church, they 
now feel the want of it, and for this object all is in 
motion. They desire to form all these isolated 
churches into one great Presbyterian church, repre- 
sented by the ministers and deputies from their 
flocks. They go even farther, and would unite all 
the churches of Germany into one great German 
church. To accomplish this, they claim the self- 
regulation, independence, and liberty of the church; 
seeing that the Erastian element divides, while the 
Christian element unites. 

The official bonds of consistories and civil govern- 
ments is the starting point, while the goal to 
which they are hastening is the free institutions of 
the Presbyterian church. How is the latter point 
to be reached from the former ? Some are of 
opinion that they have only to break the ties that 
unite the church to the state, and then allow the 
church to organise itself as it sees proper ; to dis- 
solve all, in order to remodel all. In Germany 
(I speak merely as an historian and not as a judge) 



44 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

they think, on the contrary, by what I understand 
from conversation, that the church must be eman- 
cipated by degrees ; and that if, after having so 
long remained in pupilage, it were at once granted 
the liberty of mature age, it would be exposed to 
the hazards of disorder, and a dangerous influence 
would be given to individualising principles. 

The Germans are willing to admit into the church 
the popular, lay, or presbyterian element, yet they 
would retain that which is consistorial, govern- 
mental, or regal. They want an ecclesiastical con- 
stitution somewhat similar to those political ones, 
in which the people speak through their representa- 
tives, and the crown through its ministers. I also 
am averse to abrupt leaps, and in favour of suc- 
cessive developments, so long at least as God does 
not hasten the course of events ; yet I am persuaded 
that in these new ideas of ecclesiastical constitu- 
tions, we are making a fatal admixture of politics 
and religion, of faith and infidelity, and are sacri- 
ficing to ancient prejudices the purity, life, self- 
regulation, and independence of the church. 

I have been requested to give some particulars 
of my visit to a German divine who takes great 
interest in the new organisation of the church. 
There are certain matters which should be withheld 
by every traveller, yet there are others which 
belong to the public, because they characterise the 
time and the people of whom I am at present speak- 
ing. I will therefore say a few words of one of 
the German theologians, who appears to me the 



GERMANY. 45 

most faithful representative of the present move- 
ment, I mean Dr. Ullmann. I saw him at Heidel- 
berg, where I remained about a month, and was 
often at his house, at the bottom of the pretty hill 
on which stand the splendid ruins of that ancient 
and well-known castle. I met him again in the 
pleasing and delightful walks in the environs of 
Baden, that little Switzerland ; and lastly, in the 
numerous and imposing assemblies of German Pro- 
testantism at Stutgard. Since then Ullmann has 
visited Berlin as a member of the evangelical 
conference, assembled by the king of Prussia. I 
can the more readily recall the conversations I had 
with him, as I have since found, in a pamphlet 
published by him, many things which he said 
to me. They now belong to the public. 

" The agitated period in which we live," said 
Ullmann, " demands a strong remedy ; and the 
" time is now come, if it is ever to come, when we 
" must have recourse to some great measure fit to 
" rebuild the church. 

" The objective foundation of the church, (namely 
" that which is out of ourselves,) is Jesus Christ, 
" the Son of Man and the Son of God, Reconciler 
" and Redeemer. The subjective foundation, 
" (namely, that which ought to be found within 
c i ourselves,) is the living faith in Christ , by which 
" grace is applied to us ; the union with Christ in 
" the Spirit; that union from which proceeds a new 
" life consecrated to God. It is only upon this 
" double foundation, which in reality forms but 



46 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" one, that the church can be rebuilt. The 
" essential always is, that Christ the "Redeemer is 
" the source of the new life ; and without this 
" primary basis all external improvements are but 
" vanity and nothingness. 

" Nevertheless, it is not an indifferent matter, to 
" ascertain what form and what constitution an 
" ecclesiastical society ought to have. There must 
" be for the spirit a corresponding body ; the ten- 
" dency towards what is internal ought not to lead 
" us into a morbid spiritualism. The spirit begets 
" the form, but the form preserves the spirit : faith 
" constitutes the church, but the church nourishes 
" faith. He who would delay giving a consti- 
" tution to a church until the true spirit is uni- 
" versal therein, would have to wait to the end of 
" time. No : those in whom the true spirit of the 
" church resides — the believers who have received 
" a prophetic glance — should endeavour to find 
" out the form in which the life of the church may 
" best prosper and move forward. 

u What the church requires, is not so much a 
" radical and universal remodelling, as a develop- 
" ment of the principles of the Reformation. He 
" who would abandon these principles would break 
" the bonds of union and fall into ecclesiastical radi- 
" calism ; while, on the other hand, he who will 
" not content himself with essential principles, but 
" would preserve every particular, and every regu- 
" lation of older times, would deny the princi- 
" pies of liberty and development, and fall into 



GERMANY. 47 

" stabilism or statu-quo-ism. Between these two 
" extremes lies the true way, sound historical pro- 
" gress : this is the path which the church should 
a now pursue, as in the days of the Keformation. 

" The church is sickly, whence should come 
" its aid ? 

" Science alone cannot heal it. We possess, in 
" Germany, the richest theology, and yet we have 
u in the church only a most confused, defective 
" life which can by no means satisfy us. Life can 
" only proceed from life. 

" But will not help come from the state, from 
" the king ? 

" To this again we must answer, no. We do 
" not desire a radical separation of church and 
" state ; but yet it is evident that there are here 
" two very different spheres. The state cannot 
" administer the powers of redemption and sancti- 
" fication, and it must allow the church the right 
" of freely developing herself. If the state, if a 
" prince, claims to act in the church, this can 
" only infinitely augment the agitation and the 
" confusion. And even supposing that the state 
" does all that the church would have done, the 
" result would nevertheless be entirely different. 
" The whole duty of a prince is to leave a fair 
" field to the church ; for the safety of the church 
" can come only from the church, and through the 
" church. 

" In Germany, we find in the church the mo- 
a narchical system, by virtue of which, in the 



48 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" sixteenth century, the ecclesiastical power was 
" transferred from the bishops to the princes. But 
" by the side of this system there stands another, 
" which, coming originally from Geneva, has been 
" especially realised in Scotland; this is the Eepre- 
" sentative system, by virtue of which the ecclesi- 
" astical power resides in the whole body of the 
" church, and is exercised by the organs she herself 
" chooses. Now, the German church must, without 
" rejecting the former of these elements, receive the 
" latter, the representative Presbyterian element. 
" Let us not, through hesitation and anxious delays, 
" allow the decisive moment to pass away. If 
* a man is to learn to swim, he does not throw 
" himself at first into the deepest part of the 
" sea, yet he must go into the water. So it is 
" with the church. We must build up the edi- 
" fice by degrees ; we must build cautiously, so 
" as to leave the different stories time enough to 
" consolidate ; but we must begin at once, we must 
" set to work on a fixed plan, in order that the 
" house may, without delay, be built up, raised 
" to the light of day, and ere long even to the 
" corner stone." 

Thus spoke Ullmann. I have but few words to 
add upon the two elements he points out : the 
Governmental or German element, and the Presby- 
terian or Genevese. For my own part, I declare 
myself for the Genevese element purely and simply. 
We love the Germans much, but in this respect we 
desire to have nothing in common with them. We 



GERMANY. 49 

will have nothing to do, either with those Germans 
who place the ecclesiastical authority in the state, 
or with the Romans who place it in the clergy. 
We desire to remain true Genevese, who, looking 
to Christ as the Head of authority to the church, 
place the church power in the assembly of the 
faithful, and the exercise of it in the council of 
ministers and elders. 

This is the goal to which Germany is tending, but 
she will not take any sudden leaps. The eminent 
man, whose thoughts I have expressed, said nothing 
tome on this subject; yet this may be gathered 
from his writings. The administration of the 
church in Germany is at present wholly govern- 
mental. Those Germans who wish for successive 
developments would not have it made entirely 
presbyterian ; they therefore propose a system 
half governmental, half presbyterian ; but this is 
merely a step. The Genevese system will go 
round the world. May it but be found in Geneva ! 
May God raise up within her that truly Christian 
people who are the essence of the church, and 
without whom the best ecclesiastical constitutions 
are of no avail ; that people who are not the 
whole multitude of the citizens, but, as the Bible 
says, '• The multitude of them that believe, who are 
" of one heart and of one soul ;"* that people who 
having attained their majority, well know how 
to choose of their elders and pastors, without 
being obliged to have recourse to the guardianship 

* Acts,, iv. 32. 
E 



50 TEAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

of municipalities.* If the Christian world can say 
that this system was once born in Geneva in the 
sixteenth century, may it be able to say, that in 
the nineteenth it was there born again ; otherwise, 
there will be a medicine that formerly grew within 
our own walls, every where in use, except among 
ourselves. " Physician, heal thyself," saith the 
Bible. 

" The part of the prince,- said Ullmann, " is to 
" leave a fair field to the church." Princes easily 
forget this. They like to grasp and mould in their 
iron hand, the spiritual interests of the church. 
It has been reserved to our times to furnish a de- 
plorable instance of this usurpation. The civil 
power of "Russia is employed in converting to the 
Greek church, not only Roman Catholics, but also 
the poor Protestants of Livonia, f I hope that in 
Germany, on the contrary, the princes will feel 
more and more convinced that they should leave 
to God all that appertains to God, It is observ- 
able, that at this very time God has bestowed upon 
that German state, which takes the lead of the 
others, a prince, not only of an exalted intellect, 

* By the constitution of 1842, the election of elders was 
vested in the municipality of Geneva. The constitution of 
1847 grants it to all the people who possess political rights. 

I Some exact and interesting information will be found at 
the end of this volume (Note A.), concerning the great work 
undertaken by the Greek church, supported by government, to 
abolish Protestantism in the German provinces of Russia, and 
to bring the worshippers of Jesus Christ to the feet of the 
Virgin and the Saints. 



GERMAN!'. 51 

but of a piety capable of understanding and 
sharing in the wants and wishes of the church. 

With this prince (the king of Prussia) is asso- 
ciated one of the most pleasing recollections of my 
visit to Germany. Having arrived on Saturday, 
the 2d of August, at Coblentz, on my return from 
England, I went to pass the night at the village of 
Lahnstein, delightfully situated on the right bank 
of the river, at the confluence of the Lahn and the 
Rhine, opposite the castle of Stolzenfels, where the 
king of Prussia was awaiting the arrival of the 
queen of England. I shall never forget that evening. 
The Prussian flag was floating from the highest 
tower of that superb fortress ; and the whole village 
of Stolzenfels, which extends along the river, was 
adorned with garlands, and filled with eager 
crowds. The cannon, which re-echoed from hill to 
hill, announcing every moment the approach of the 
king, who was returning from an evening excursion 
in his steam-boat — the heights that closed in the 
horizon, every where crowned with noble ruins, 
amidst which arose, in queenlike majesty, the 
picturesque walls of the castle of Stolzenfels, 
which the king has so admirably restored: that 
proud and noble river, impetuous but without fury, 
wild but majestic ; sweeping the boats and the 
reedy shore with his flowing mane, " his oozy 
beard," as Boileau calls it, — the noise of which is a 
loud but gentle roar, not unlike the mighty sea ; the 
quiet of the evening, the coolness of the river, the 
first shades of night, — formed a spectacle which 

E 2 



52 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

we could not contemplate without emotion, and 
which raised us to communion with the mighty 
works of God in nature. A great poet (Victor 
Hugo) has said, " The Rhone awakens in my mind 
u the idea of the tiger, the Rhine that of a lion." 
I know not if we, who dwell on the banks of the 
Rhone, will allow of the former comparison, but 
the latter is a correct one. 

I learnt, that on the following clay the chapel 
roya 1 was to be consecrated, and that there would 
be no other evangelical service. I therefore asked 
permission of the minister of the king's house- 
hold to attend it ; and in the morning I repaired 
thither with the friend who was travelling with me. 
We were introduced by the captain of the guard. 
" Even as this ancient castle has arisen from its 
" ruins in all the splendour of modern times," said 
the officiating minister, " so is the ancient Christian 
" worship to day established within this chapel, in all 
" the Gospel light of the -new times." After service, 
while remaining in that modern Gothic chapel 
to examine its beauty, the king condescended to 
invite me to go on the terrace where he was. In 
the brightest morning of last year, under one of 
the lofty arches of those magnificent terraces which 
encircle the castle, where every thing is perfect in 
coolness and beauty, looking out on the finest 
view of the banks of the Rhine, I found the king, 
the queen, and their court. I will not repeat the 
conversation I had with his majesty. He did not 
speak of Germany; I cannot therefore say, from my 



GERMANY. 53 

own knowledge, what are his views on the subjects 
I have mentioned above ; and even had he spoken 
of them, I should not tell what passed. The fashion 
of repeating whatever the personages we meet with 
in our travels may have said, and of describing their 
personal appearance, will long, I hope, among us 
be considered as a mark of indiscretion, even 
when a king is concerned. I can only say that, 
in my interview, I had an opportunity of verifying 
the words of the wise man, " there is grace in the 
" mouth of a king." It was his father's birth- day. 
I was not aware of it ; and having spoken of the 
late king with an expression of gratitude for Ge- 
neva, his son started and looked up. This sudden 
touch of filial emotion affected me. We saw all the 
castle, and afterwards its delightful environs, even 
the old stone which marks the spot where, in ancient 
times, the electors of the empire used to assemble 
by the river's side, in a simple and rustic manner, 
to exercise their august functions. 

With any other prince than the king of Prussia, 
the wish of the church to be freed from govern- 
mental leading-strings, would, no doubt, have been 
greeted with a decided refusal ; let us hope that 
it will not be so now. Yet, let us acknowledge 
how difficult is the position of a king, and not be 
too ready to accuse him, as is the wont of men who 
are always exacting, and always unsatisfied. Dur- 
ing his reign the bark of the church, and the bark 
of the state, are both about to launch into an 

E 3 



54 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

unknown sea : may the Lord be the pilot to steer 
them through the numerous shoals ! 



VI. 

THE GERMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 

The first step taken by Germany to free herself 
from the isolation which had hitherto characterised 
her, was the foundation of a vast society including all 
Protestants. The second was the formation of evan- 
gelical Presbyterian churches in all the countries of 
Germany — churches which will be united by common 
bonds. Yet a third step might be taken. A great 
part of Germany is still Eoman Catholic : to esta- 
blish a complete unity, it Would be therefore neces- 
sary to amalgamate the Romish and the Protestant 
parts into one church. This, in the opinion of 
many, is to be effected by the late German Catholic 
movement. I do not coincide with this opinion 
myself, yet I must own, that this third step might 
be practicable, and even desirable ; and in any case, 
I cannot take leave of Germany without adding a 
few words on German Catholicism. 

I did not see it in its centre, in Silesia and Bran- 
denburg. I did not visit the place where this new 
blast had raised the storm. I only saw a few of 
its waves breaking at my feet. Nevertheless, the 



GERMANY. 55 

very countries in which I saw it, are those in which 
it is now exciting public attention to the greatest 
degree. You are aware that in the Grand Duchy 
of Baden, numerous petitions have been signed, 
both for and against religious liberty ; as it is not 
on the shores of our lake alone * that worldly men 
are not ashamed to attack that first of all rights. 

At Manheim, the new church, now in a flourish- 
ing condition, was just forming when I passed 
through it. It is a gay and worldly town. " Why," 
said some one to a Eoman Catholic, " do not you, 
" who are opposed to the priests and the pope, join 
" the German Catholic church? " — -" For two rea- 
" sons," was the reply. " The first, because I 
" should have to go to church, and I had rather 
" amuse myself; the second, that I should have 
" to give money, and I had rather keep it." These 
are some of the motives that keep the adherents of 
the pope faithful to their standard. 

While I was at Heidelberg, the new church had 
neither priest nor minister ; the members celebrated 
divine worship among themselves. " I must own 
" to you," said one of these, " that up to the time 
" (a month ago), when I joined the German Catholic 
" church, I had never opened the Bible ; but I read 
li it now." This person, who had been reading the 
Bible " for a month," was a teacher in these meet- 
ings !. 

* The Canton of Vaucl, and the persecutions of the Free 
Church there. 



56 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

At Stutgard, the capital of Wurtemberg, I at- 
tended, at seven o'clock on Sunday morning, the 
worship of this new church in the Reformed chapel. 
There were very few women, but many men ; 
several, no doubt, strangers like myself. I observed 
very little seriousness before the service began ; 
they were standing in groups, and even talking 
somewhat loudly. It was more like the commence- 
ment of a political or literary meeting, than of one 
for religious worship. 

At length the priest, having put on his canonicals 
in a corner of the building, came and stood before 
the altar, which was somewhat shabbily ornamented 
with garlands, tapers, and a picture. He was a 
tall, stout, red-faced man, with a drawling tone and 
coarseness of manner, which are not uncommonly 
found in the Romish clergy. He told us he knew 
the papacy well, for he had been a priest twenty- 
five years, which was plain enough to be seen. 

The only satisfactory part of this worship was 
the singing : it was almost too good, but the words 
were not very Christian ; even what was sung 
during the Lord's Supper, or the mass (in which 
four persons, one of whom was a soldier, took 
part), celebrated Christ merely as a model. God 
was the " universal father" (Allvater). The ser- 
mon was pretty long, inveighing against Rome, 
principally as to confession, but I could discern in 
it no trace of a truly evangelical spirit. 

Let us now inquire, what is the religion of this 



GERMANY. 57 

new church ? Is it Catholicism? Is it Evangelism ? 
Or is it something new ? 

Is it Catholicism, as we might be led to think, by 
the name this church has taken ? Rejecting the 
narrow and sectarian Catholicism of the Council 
of Trent, and even that wider and less definite, 
though equally superstitious one of the middle ages, 
it might indeed fall back upon the Catholicism of 
the earlier periods, the Catholicism of Augustin and 
Cyprian, as a powerful party in the Anglican church 
professes to do. But this has not been done in 
Germany. It must, in that case, have adopted 
the Mcean and Athanasian creeds, the doctrines of 
Irenaeus and Augustin, while it will not have even the 
Apostles' Creed. And as for church government, 
the episcopal aristocracy and strict discipline of 
the early ages would be most distasteful to these 
new Catholics. These, then, have nothing to do 
with the re-establishment of primitive Catholicism. 

Are they, then, simply an evangelical church, 
similar to those formed by the Reformation in the 
sixteenth century ? By no means. They reject the 
name, for they are tenacious of the appellation of 
Catholic ; they reject the faith, for they dislike the 
creeds of the sixteenth century, still more than 
those of the fourth. Lastly, they reject the com- 
munion, for they will not amalgamate with the 
Protestant church ; they are determined to be an 
isolated sect. 

Bat as they belong to neither of these great mani- 



58 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Testations, being neither Catholic nor Evangelical, 
are they, then, something new ? What, it is not 
enough to say that you are no Papist ! Begin, if 
you will, by pulling down the old building, and 
throwing away the mouldering stones and rotten 
beams ; sweep the rubbish out of your way, but 
then build up something, lay a foundation, erect 
a better edifice,- — that is an essential thing. This, 
it must be owned, is the weak side of the new 
community ; we cannot see what it sets up in the 
room of what it overturns. 

We might be tempted to think that it establishes 
mere morality in the place of faith. Humanity 
and love are what they generally talk about in 
all these churches ; and it seems that faith is to 
be left to each congregation, even to each indivi- 
dual, as being merely a private affair. This is an 
error which unfortunately is not uncommon else- 
where. But the Theophilanthropists of Laveveil- 
lere Lepeaux, at the end of the French Revolution, 
did not last long. To try to found a church upon 
morality, would be like pretending to plant a tree 
composed of fruits alone, and which should have 
neither stem nor roots. 

Of all the numerous congregations of German 
Catholicism, there are three, and no more, if I do 
not mistake, who cling to the religion of God ; 
those of Schneidemiihle, Berlin, and Elberfeld. 
They have preserved the Holy Trinity, the Father 
Almighty; His only Son, very God, having the 



GERMANY. 5 ( J 

same nature and the same essence with the Father, 
by whom all things were made, who became man 
and died for us ; and, lastly, belief in the Holy 
Ghost, who is to be worshipped and glorified to- 
gether with the Father and the Son. But most 
of the other churches — all, indeed, to the best of 
my recollection- — have turned aside to Rationalism. 
A\ 7 hen Eonge appeared in the east of Switzerland, 
he said — a The Protestants have rejected the pope, 
" but they have set up another pope in his place 
" — the Bible ! " Would to God that were every- 
where the case ! Since that time he has more 
openly professed infidelity. 

The confession of Leipsic, the only one recog- 
nised by the whole of German Catholicism, con- 
fesses simply : " Belief in God, the Creator and 
" Preserver of the world ; in Jesus Christ our 
" Saviour, in the Holy Ghost, in the Christian 
" church universal, in the remission of sins, and 
" in life everlasting." In this confession it is not 
even said that Jesus is the Son of God, — He may 
be a mere man ; nothing is said of His work of 
expiation and reconciliation, of sin, of condemna- 
tion, of the fall, of justification, of regeneration, and 
of sanctification. It has been said of the confession 
of Leipsic, that it is a frame without a picture ; 
perhaps that may come afterwards, but as yet it is 
a mere blank. 

And what will be the constitution of the new 
church ? This we may conceive from what took 
place at the first provincial synod of Silesia, which 



60 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

decided that the clergy have no voice in church 
councils, and may not be deputed to the provincial 
synods. On the 17th of August, 1845, they abol- 
ished the pastoral duties," and granted votes to 
widows, wives, and young girls. (Evang. Kirchen. 
Zeit., 1846, p. 13.) Ecclesiastical radicalism can 
go no farther. 

Let us follow the new apostles in their mission. 
We hear them speak enthusiastically of enlighten- 
ment, liberty, charity, and patriotism ; but very 
little of Jesus Christ dead, raised to life, and glori- 
fied with God in heaven. In their meetings we 
see nothing of the holy gravity of the apostles 
and reformers ; but in their stead we find enliven- 
ing music, numerous banquets, and noisy toasts. 
Some have therefore expressed a fear that all this 
stir will come to nothing in the end, but to organise 
a society of good fellows, a jovial anti-papistical 
club, which will last as long as there is sparkling 
Champagne to fill their glasses. 

No, this is not the soil on which churches are 
erected. A church is proved by struggles, sacri- 
fices, trials, and persecutions. Before the judg- 
ment seat, and in dungeons — not at tables covered 
with wines and loaded with delicacies — does a 
new church receive her baptism. 

The new Catholicism is not a church, but an 
anti-ecclesiastical movement. It has been called a 
new Free-Masonry : a severe expression, the justice 
of which time alone can show. Doubtless, we must 
not judge of a work by its first beginnings. The 



GERMANY. 61 

Holy Spirit may act upon these masses, and bring 
forth from them children of God, able to form a 
true church. We hope — we pray — that it may 
be so ; but we speak according to human proba- 
bilities. If a tree is to extend its grateful foliage, 
there must be a germ fitted to produce that tree, 
otherwise it cannot spring up ; and as yet, if Ave 
except three or four congregations of the German 
Catholic church, we may search in vain for that 
living germ which is sufficient to form a church of 
Jesus Christ. To no purpose do we traverse the 
different countries where it has been formed ; we 
see none of those men of great faith — of that faith 
which God bestows when he would form or regene- 
rate the church — those Luthers or Calvins, those 
Pauls or Peters, those rocks which serve to raise 
up the new edifice. 

The most probable destiny of German Catholi- 
cism is a union with the Protestant rationalism of 
the Friends of Light. The old Reformation and 
the new will thus cross each other. While the 
many rationalists in the Protestant church will 
leave it to unite with the new Catholicism, the 
three or four Christian congregations of the new 
Catholicism will come out from it to join the 
Evangelical church, then purified from the infidel 
elements it yet contains. There will thus be in 
Germany three great communions, with well marked 
and well defined characteristics — Evangelism, or 
the religion of God ; Popery, or the religion of the 
priest ; Rationalism, or the religion of fallen man. 



62 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

M. Gervinus, a Heidelberg doctor, has recently 
taken upon himself to predict a new church, and to 
announce the fusion of all churches into one vast 
religious community, of which German Catholicism 
is to be the forerunner. He styles Goethe, Voss, 
"Wieland, Schiller, Lessing, Herder (all of them, 
more or less, decided rationalists of the eighteenth 
century), the " reformers of a new Reformation," 
and asserts, that " the seed sown by them, having 
" grown up in the numberless attractive forms of 
" poetry, and in the countless works on science, 
" has penetrated into religion, and reanimated 
" it with the amiable and humane spirit of anti- 
" quity." 

It may, perhaps, come to this ; German Catho- 
licism may, perchance, only give to Protestant 
Rationalism the strength to constitute itself a re- 
gular community. But let us take heed how we 
think that evangelical Christianity will be absorbed 
into that vague and indifferent society which is to 
bring back the spirit of pagan antiquity. Ko ! the 
essential revelations of Christianity will still sub- 
sist ; the life of faith which God produces in the 
heart will yet continue to animate innumerable 
souls. The church may, perhaps, once more become 
a poor, unknown, and despised sect ; but was not 
her Plead, during His sojourn on the earth, con- 
temned as a sectarian and a stranger ? There will 
yet be seven thousand men who have not bowed 
the knee to this new Baal, one aspect of which 
reminds us of the times of Aristophanes and of 



GERMANY. G3 

Horace, the other of those of Voltaire and of 
Frederic. 

However this may be, Germany is stirring ; Ger- 
many is moving. It might long have been thought 
that she was sacrificing every thing to science — 
theological science; that this was her only aim, 
her ne plus ultra. But it is not so. I have been in 
company with the most learned men, and have 
always found them firmly persuaded that Germany 
must pass through successive developments ; that 
the labours of theological science are necessary to 
her ; and, yet, that this labour and science are to 
lead to two ends — to doctrine and to life. 

It has often been said at Geneva and in France, 
" Why do you busy yourself so much about the 
" church, about doctrine and life ? That is what 
" the English, the Methodists do ; but look at the 
" Germans, who are far more learned in these 
■" matters, they do not stir." This can be said no 
longer. The Germans are stirring — they are in- 
teresting themselves about doctrine, the church, 
and the Christian life ; they are rising in their 
turn. This is a very recent fact of great importance 
in the development of the kingdom of God. May 
we be enabled to understand it ! While they are 
rising, shall we lie still ? Shall we remain in that 
mean and narrow bed which the last century made 
us ? When all are stirring, shall we alone con- 
tinue to slumber ? 

Germany seemed to have forgotten the call she 
received from God three centuries ago, and now 



64 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

she suddenly recollects it. She starts up, and again 
finds her Melanchthons, if she no longer finds a 
Luther. She is moving upon the field of the church, 
after having appeared to move solely upon that of 
philosophy and the arts. 

Honour to the people who remember their his- 
tory, their fathers, their destiny, their calling, their 
work ! Honour to Germany who remembers hers ! 

But has Geneva no history ? Has she no fathers, 
no work, no destiny, no calling ? 

I trust that in this rising generation, to which 
we must soon give place, there may be some who 
will remember it. I trust that young men, firm in 
the faith, will undertake, amidst so many struggles, 
and in spite of so many adverse influences, to build 
up the temple of God. And as I have seen the flag 
of Wurtemberg waving from the towers of its me- 
tropolis, and the colours of Brandenburg floating 
over the picturesque battlements of Stolzenfels, 
so I trust that from these ancient towers of St. 
Peter, at the base of which we are now met, we 
may soon (I speak figuratively) behold the banner 
of Jesus Christ, of Jesus — Man, God, and Saviour ; 
so that the whole world may know that new Geneva 
has hoisted on her turrets the standard of ancient 
days, which is that of the new times, of the ever- 
lasting ages. 



CHAP. II. 

ENGLAND. 

1. Arrival. Salutation. Revolution now in progress. Error. 
The Sectarian System. The Latitudinarian. The Christian. 
Popery. The Gardener of the State. — 2. Entry into London. 
Bustle. Practical Tendency. The Common People. Public 
Men. The Youth. Equality and Liberty. Wealth. Country 
Seats and Shops. The Aristocracy. British Enthusiasm. 
Hospitality. Discipline and Piety. — 3. Bondage to the Com- 
fortable and the Fashionable. The Merit of Wealth and 
Power. Puritanism and Worldliness. Christianity should 
be manifested in the Flesh. Evils of large Properties. An 
Exception. The Sites. Grandeur of the Manufacturing and 
Mercantile Towns. The reverse of the Medal. A human 
Form in the Strand. A Story in a Sermon. Want of popular 
Instruction. Drs. Sack and Luke. — 4. Conscientiousness 
of a People. Religion necessary to England. Service at 
Cambridge. Fear of God among the People. The Divine 
Law or Duty. Sunday in Britain. The Railroads and the 
Sunday. Puseyism proceeds from the same Principle. — 

5. The Articles. Doctrine and Life. Religious Meetings. 
Capacity of the British. Explosions of Eloquence. The Lions 
of Meetings in Scotland and England. Preachers. — 

6. Christian Union. Breakfast at Liverpool. The Bishop and 
the London Missions. Westminster and the Presbyterians. 
Hanover Square Rooms and Finsbury Chapel. — 7. Reform- 
ation in the Church of England. Communion at Geneva. 
Strength of the Evangelical Party. Two Revolutions : — 
In Theological Instruction, and in Church Government. 
Convocations. The Shadows. Preservation and Transform- 
ation. Reform. Intervention of Members of the Church. 
Necessity of Ecclesiastical Institutions. Two Armies against 
Rome. Confidence and Error. 

I. 

EELIGION AND THE PEOPLE. 

I embarked at Ostend, and quitted the Continent. 
We soon came in sight of the white cliffs and 

F 



66 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

chalky hills of Kent. Here, in the Isle of Thanet, 
the first Saxons landed ; farther on, at Hastings, 
landed William the Conqueror; at Dover, Caesar 
disembarked; and there also, at the foot of its 
ancient castle, I stepped on shore, and some thou- 
sands do the like every month. In five hours I 
had come from Ostend to Dover, and soon after 
I reached London by railroad. 

For nearly thirty years, England was incessantly 
eulogised in a religious point of view. Now the 
wind has changed, and loud complaints are raised 
against her. No doubt, there is some reason for 
them : Puseyism is a fearful manifestation. Yet let 
us not go into either extreme ; let us not be ultras 
in any way ; let us be grateful, let us be just. 
For my own part, I confess, that on setting my 
foot on the soil of England, a thrill came over me : — 
" Hail to thee, ancient land of WicklifFe, Latimer, 
" and Tindal ; for ages thou hast been the bulwark 
" of Reformation ! Within thee have been wonder- 
" fully preserved, for these three hundred years, 
" the holy doctrines of grace ! More than once, 
" hast thou proudly stood forth among the nations 
" a representative of the religion of the Word of 
" God ! Thy mighty hand has scattered the sacred 
" writings over every country of the earth, and thy 
" ships have carried to all nations, even to the most 
" distant isles of the sea, the messengers of peace ! 
" No, we will not forget thee ! Who could ever 
" forget the children thou hast brought up, 
" quickened by the Spirit which comes down from 



ENGLAND. 67 

" the Head ; Owen, Flavel, Baxter, Bunyan, John 
" Newton, Scott, Cecil, Simeon, and so many more 
a in whom the church of God rejoices? Surely 
" the fount of blessings which has sprung from 
" thee, can never be dried up, and the whole world 
• j may still come and joyfully drink of it ! " 

But for this purpose, one thing is necessary. A 
great revolution is now taking place in the political 
destiny of England.* The old Toryism is falling ; 
the Church of England privileges are threatened ; 
the form of the state is changing. It is remark- 
able too, that it is not the adversaries of the ancient 
principles who are bringing them to the dust, but 
the chiefs themselves, their most illustrious sup- 
porters. In this movement, there are, in our 
opinion, some errors which ought to be pointed out 
and opposed; but there is also something which 
must run its course. There is a progress of 
history, there are developments of time which no 
human hand is able to stop. 

But if the state is changing, will the church 
maintain the same position ? Can this be thought 
a possibility ? If an edifice has leaned upon a pil- 
lar, and that pillar has been removed, must it not 
seek another support ? The support of the state is 
taken from the church of England ; she must seek 
for strength elsewhere, or her ruin is not far off. 

This strength she must seek in that faith in Jesus, 

* This was written during the last days of Sir Robert Peel's 
ministry. 

F 2 



68 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

which in her articles she confesses with such purity, 
in the Christian life of her members, and in their 
sympathy with all that concerns her. Her strength 
lies no longer in parliament, or in the bench of 
bishops : but in the benches of Christian men, of 
Christian families, of Christian churches. The re- 
ligious community must have strength within it- 
self, and not through the powers of the civil com- 
munity. 

The danger which now threatens the church of 
England is one of the greatest to which it has 
ever been exposed. Some of her most eminent 
sons are bowing down at Rome before idols ; the 
deserters are on the increase ; most of her bishops 
are silent, or connive at this apostacy; many 
even of those ministers who were considered evan- 
gelical, though they still protest against Rome, 
are rushing into human and superstitious fancies, 
which are half-way towards Popery. This is a 
deplorable weakness, which would raise a shudder 
among those holy men whom this church once 
reckoned as her leaders. If, while the state is 
accomplishing an immense revolution, the church 
remains dumb and motionless, or clings to what 
is slipping from her grasp ; if there is neither 
animation, courage, nor resolution, except in those 
who are turning towards the pope ; if those who 
ought to seek the salvation of the church in the 
Christian doctrine, in the Christian people, in in- 
dependence of the kings of the earth, and in submis- 
sion to the King of Heaven, exhibit nothing but 



ENGLAND. 69 

timidity, prejudice, fear, bigotry, and listlessness, 
then we must indeed fear, that the ruin of the 
church of England is at hand. And that tribute 
of admiration which burst from my lips the moment 
the white cliffs of Albion rose to my new, — must 
I, alas ! if ever I return, — must I bestow it on her 
grave ? 

Is the revolution now going on in England, 
taking a right direction ? 

I think that some revolution was necessary, but 
not that one which the politicians of England pro- 
pose. 

Hitherto, in England, the state has been An- 
glican, Episcopal ; it has attached itself to one 
special confession, has espoused all its interests, 
and during a long period has protected it by op- 
pressing and persecuting all other Christian confes- 
sions. Thus, in the very midst of Protestantism, 
scenes of intolerance have been witnessed, similar 
to those exhibited in the middle ages. 

It is now felt that this narrow and sectarian 
system can no longer be the system of the state ; 
but what can be substituted for it ? an equal favour 
of the state towards all religions, even the most 
opposed and the most contradictory. The state 
would thus alike maintain Protestantism and 
Popery, Judaism and Islamism ; perhaps, even all 
kinds of Paganism. If politicians do not proceed 
quite so far in their application, the principles they 
profess would lead to this. 

If the state seemed at first too narrow-minded, 



70 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

it now appears too latitudinarian. What then 
should it be ? 

There is one solution for which some on the 
Continent, at least, loudly clamour. It is pro- 
posed that the state should be atheistical. That, 
indeed, removes every difficulty ; but we can no 
more admit of this solution, than of the other two. 
We believe that the more a people and its govern- 
ment are brought under the influence of Chris- 
tianity, the more their prosperity, both moral and 
temporal, will be found to increase. We demand 
the self-regulation of the church ; we claim her 
independence of all the powers of the world : yet 
we would not have the atheism of the state, which 
finds defenders, on the Continent at least, among 
men who are eminently religious. 

Can a state, placed in the midst of Christendom, 
abstract itself from a fact so important as Chris- 
tianity ? This is impossible. 

If, as Scripture asserts, " Righteousness exaltetli 
u a nation" it means, plainly, not uprightness in 
a restricted sense, as maintained by police officers, 
but that righteousness which has for its basis the 
love and the fear of God. 

Keligion cannot, therefore, be an indifferent 
matter to a nation. There is a something which 
a people must desire to see flourishing among 
them ; but this something is not a particular ec- 
clesiastical form, a particular feature which dis- 
tinguishes one sect from another ; it is the Chris- 
tian religion itself. 



ENGLAND. 71 

The animal which feeds upon nuts knows how 
to crack the shell, throw it away, and feed on the 
kernel ; will a nation do the contrary ? Will it 
throw away the inner part of Christianity, and feed 
upon the husks ? 

We do not require the state to be either epi- 
scopal, presbyterian, or congregationalist ; we do 
not see what advantage it could gain by this. But 
we wish, that the essential principles of Christianity 
should be within the soul of every individual, of 
every family, of every institution, and of the 
whole people ; and among the people we reckon, 
in the first place, those who govern them. 

We do not think that either the episcopal, the 
presbyterian, or the congregational form, can im- 
part a superior influence to the state, — that is, 
taking the word in its widest sense, to the people 
at large. No, it must be the very essence of 
Christianity, — divine life, true evangelism. Now, 
this may be found in any of these forms. 

If a king is called upon to give battle, will he, 
in order to gain the victory, take a fancy to some 
particular uniform, setting aside the man himself 
with the strength which God has given him ? Cer- 
tainly not. The great evil of the church, and of 
the state also, has been the preference of the form 
to the life. 

Wherever we see form occupying the chief place, 
we will boldly declare war against it. 

But it will be said, If the state is not to attach 
itself to a strictly confessional principle, it must 

F 4 



72 TEAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

then welcome all creeds, the Roman Catholic in 
particular ? 

The English government proposes, they say, to 
receive Popery among the religions calculated to 
make the British people flourish ; and will, in con- 
sequence, enter into communication with the pope, 
and give salaries to his clergy. 

But if the Gospel alone can render a people 
prosperous, how can they enter into alliance with 
its most deadly foe ? Are not the great principles 
of evangelical Christianity, u The Word of God 
" alone — the grace of Christ alone — the regene- 
" ration of the Spirit alone," altogether rejected by 
Popery ? 

Besides, we have already said that the state 
should receive no form whatsoever ; but is Popery, 
in its essence, any thing but a form ? The external 
church, the pope, and relations with the pope, are 
not these the chief objects at Rome ? Does not 
ecclesiasticism hold there the place of religion ? does 
not legalism take the place of morality ? 

Let the state beware ! Popery is less a religion 
than a state. The papacy every where tends to 
constitute itself a state within the state. We know 
that it is yet far from its object ; but let us be 
patient ! We are clearing the road for it. With poli- 
ticians so short-sighted, as some of those who have, 
in other respects, justly acquired the highest repu- 
tation in Europe, Popery will quickly make its 
way. The state talks of finding another ally, but 
it will receive a master. 



ENGLAND. 73 

Let us, then, remember Christ's words, " Render 
" unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto 
" God the things that are God's." Let not the 
state, like Uzziah; put forth its hands to sustain 
the ark, even if the oxen stumble ; but let every 
man among the people, and especially their govern- 
ors, seek, each for himself, that kingdom of God 
which is righteousness, and peace, and joy. in the 
Holy Ghost. These will be the surest means of 
bringing spiritual blessings on the country. To 
the living church of Christ belongs the labour, 
to the state will belong the fruits. It is not the 
tree itself, but the gardener who •• digs about it 
" and dungs it." Xow, the gardener of the state, 
the gardener who raises the finest fruits, is the 
church. I do not mean to discuss in this place 
the exact relations which should subsist between 
the two societies, — I will enter into this when I 
speak of Scotland, — but I may say here that I 
like to distinguish between the temporal and the 
spiritual, and attribute to each of them its proper 
sphere ; and that, as I would not have the church 
discharge the functions of the state, I would not 
have the state discharge the functions of the 
church. " Every one shall bear his own burden," 
saith the Script are. 

Let but the church be what she ought to be ; let 
her draw from her stem a life of her own • let her 
develop herself with vigour and independence ; let 
her remember that, like her Master, she is come to 
minister : then will fairer days than those gone by 



74 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

be granted to the church of Christ in England, 
and to all her people. Life will then proceed from 
the roots, and the tree will flourish once more. 



II. 

THE ENGLISH. 

But I perceive that I have taken too lofty a 
flight. I must be allowed to return to my humble 
character of a traveller, and seat myself in the 
noisy and rapid train, which bears me with the 
swiftness of an arrow along the railroad from 
Dover to London. 

On approaching the capital, my wondering eyes' 
looked down from the carriage into innumerable 
narrow streets of small houses, all of uniform and 
mean appearance, blackened with coal-dust and 
shrouded by a smoky atmosphere. Such is the 
gloomy avenue which leads to the delightful parks 
of the metropolis, its superb squares, magnificent 
bazaars, and rich palaces. 

What crowds in the streets, what bustle, what 
hurry ! These carriages, public and private, almost 
as numerous as the foot passengers ; that dazzling 
display of every production of British industry, 
and of the most distant lands ; those forests of 
ships, motionless in their immense docks ; the 
steam-boats, which, like a weaver's shuttle, inces- 



ENGLAND. 75 

santly ply up and down the Thames with incon- 
ceivable rapidity, taking up and setting down at 
every pier a fresh cargo of breathless passengers, 
— everything you behold tells you that you are 
now in the capital of the commercial world. 

If the German feeds upon the ideal, the practical 
is the characteristic of Great Britain ; I say, Britain, 
because most of what T say here of England is ap- 
plicable to Scotland also. Keality, action, business, 
bear sway in the politics, the industry, the com- 
merce, and, I will even say, in the religion/ of the 
English. Yet this practical tendency which cha- 
racterises England is not selfish, as might have 
been expected. The large scale on which the 
people work gives a certain scope and grandeur 
to the imagination. The habit which the English 
have of forming into parties, and of looking con- 
stantly at themselves as a nation, is opposed to 
a narrow selfishness ; and a more elevated senti- 
ment struggles with this vice in a large portion 
of the people. 

Perhaps, one of the things that strikes a stranger 
the most on his arrival in London, is not the nobi- 
lity but the common people ; their strength, their 
energy, their quickness, their skill, their civility, 
and, above all, their calmness and silence during 
their unceasing activity. They are all alive to 
what they are about, and they are clever at it ; you 
can see this in the carriages, the ships, and especially 
in the railroads. The skill with which an English 
coachman drives you through the streets of London, 



76 TRAVELLING KECOLLECTIONS. 

among thousands of vehicles, without ever jostling 
you, is inconceivable. 

The day after my arrival in London, I visited 

the ancient seat of our friend M , built in the 

time of Elizabeth. The railroad took me a certain 
distance, where I had to find a carriage to take me 
on to L — — Park ; but what on the Continent 
might perhaps have occupied an hour, was here 
done in an instant. In less than a minute all our 
luggage was lifted from the train into the carriage, 
and the Fly was winging its way towards the park. 

If I speak thus of the common people, what shall 
I say of the statesmen of England, of her sailors, 
of her warriors ? — of that character of simplicity 
and grandeur which strikes every impartial be- 
holder, and of which they have lately given such 
remarkable instances ?* The constitution of Great 
Britain, the balance of her powers, the slow but sure 
energy of the universal thought of the people, — 
all this is so beautiful, that Ave cannot but recognise 
the Master-hand. But I did not leave the Conti- 
nent to study the wondrous mechanism of this 
state. I, therefore, content myself with saluting 
it respectfully as I pass on. I think myself for- 
tunate to have been present at the debates in the 
Houses of Parliament. I will only add, that if 
the political institutions of England, by conducing 
to her power and glory, have been of incalculable 
benefit to all mankind, this has proceeded from 

* I allude to the late war in India, 



ENGLAND. 



77 



their having held within them a higher living 
principle, the religion of Him who has said, " I 
" will make you free indeed." 

I observed in England one thing, that the people 
talk much less of liberty than we do on the Con- 
tinent, but practise it more. This is quite natural : 
when we possess a thing, we mention it less fre- 
quently than when we are in search of it. The young 
men, who play so important a part in Germany, 
and even in France and other countries, do not so 
in England. It is not for want of spirit in the 
English youth — they have even rather too much ; 
but it is confined in the preparatory sphere of 
schools and colleges, and does not display itself 
in public business. Influential institutions satisfy 
this people. The young men know that their turn 
will come, and they wait quietly. Among a people 
deprived of public institutions, vigour is often mis- 
placed ; it is forced forward in youth and exhausted 
in riper years. In England, on the contrary, it is 
disciplined in youth and exerted in manhood. On 
the Continent, paternal authority is much shaken ; 
in Britain the parents, generally speaking, know 
how to keep their children at a respectful distance ; 
and this is a great element of strength for a nation. 
When the Bible would pronounce a threat against 
a people, it says, " I will give them children to 
" be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." * 
This curse has been but too well fulfilled among 

* Isaiah, iii. 4. 



78 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

many nations. When the unfortunate Legislative 
Assembly was convened in France after the Con- 
stituent Assembly, the multitude of extremely 
young men was notorious ; and when the president 
by seniority, in order to form the provisional com- 
mittee, called upon the deputies, who had not yet 
completed their twenty-sixth year, to come for- 
ward, sixty youths crowded round the tribune, 
competing for the office of Secretary to the As- 
sembly.* This predominance of youth is an evil 
which, thank God, is still far removed from Eng- 
land. 

The French writers assert with pride that, while 
in England there is liberty but not equality, in 
France there is equality but not liberty, f We 
cannot help thinking that England is right. God 
would have liberty for all ; but equality, which 
would bring all men to the same level, is but an 
idle dream. No doubt the French writers do 
not claim equality in every respect, but we regret 
that they set such bounds to the principle of 
liberty. 

It is, nevertheless, in these very marked dis- 
tinctions, which prevent equality, that one of Eng- 
land's dangers lies. If there is too much equality 
on the south of the Channel, there may be too little 
on the north. The distinctions of rank and fortune 
are, perhaps, exaggerated in Britain ; and were it 

* Les Girondins, by M. de Lamartine. 

■f This thesis was maintained by the Journal des Debats in 
May, 1847, apropos of religious liberty. 



ENGLAND. 79 

not for that vital Christianity, which is a powerful 
remedy for this evil, the whole people would be 
seriously affected by it. But the Gospel corrects 
the defects of institutions. Before God all are 
equal ; all have the same sin, the same salvation, 
whatever be their intellect, their wealth, or their 
rank. Noble and learned, low and ignorant, rich 
and poor, all say together, " Have mercy upon us, 
" miserable sinners."* I am aware that this is 
with some persons a mere form, but I also know 
that with many it is a solemn reality. I do not 
think there is any aristocracy which, like that of 
England, contains so many nobles who are men, — 
who are Christians. 

And yet, to what an extent are wealth and aris- 
tocracy developed ! By them I have been so struck, 
that I must pause upon these two features which 
characterise Great Britain. 

First, as to her wealth. In the eighteenth cen- 
tury, England had already become the chief mart 
of the world; she is now, moreover, the largest 
workshop. Nothing can be said against her wealth ; 
it is the reward of her labour and of her works. 
She wears her greatness well. Her rich men make 
an admirable use of the wealth which God has en - 
trusted to them. It is not in hundreds or by thou- 
sands of francs, but in sums of twenty-five or fifty 
thousand that money is given in England for be- 
nevolent or evangelical purposes. And, moreover, 

* In the public worship of England. 



80 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

the men in Britain, who owe all their fortune to 
themselves, have not those upstart manners so often 
met with on the Continent. They are both great and 
simple. They practise an amiable hospitality, the 
charm of which I have often experienced. I have 
visited country seats, adorned with all the graces 
of architecture, containing spacious and imposing 
apartments, and built in the most delightful situa- 
tions, a flag flying from their highest towers ; and 
the next day, being in the neighbouring town, I 
have entered the warehouse of the owner, which 
he could survey with pride as the source of all 
his greatness, and found him unostentatiously ex- 
hibiting his goods to us, and cordially pressing 
us to accept some remembrance. 

On another occasion, I was in what was almost 
a palace, situated near a large mercantile town. 
The master led me from his villa to his carriage, 
and from his carriage to his warehouses, an im- 
mense building, not only all the rooms of which, 
but even all the storeys communicated with each 
other by a kind of well, in which a moveable 
cabinet, without any fatigue to yourself, carried 
you rapidly up or down to whatever floor you de- 
sired. This is a staircase often met with in such 
establishments, and very agreeable to asthmatic 
patients. 

I mentioned another feature. In Britain, of all 
the countries in the earth, the nobility have the 
most power. The king or queen is but the key- 
stone of the aristocracy. This aristocracy, also, 



ENGLAND. 81 

"wears its greatness well. There is in the manners 
of the great ones of England, a nobleness, a grace, 
a simplicity, an exquisite perfume of sociability, 
and a regard for their inferiors in the social 
scale, which w r ins every heart. There is among 
the English, especially among the aristocracy, a 
physical beauty celebrated all over the world, and 
with which the moral beauty of the mind is often 
in harmony. These nobles have not merely, like 
those of some other nations, an external polish, 
but there is within them an internal grace, a po- 
liteness of the soul. 

In other respects the English aristocracy ap- 
pears to me no less admirable. When we behold 
elsewhere the frightful tyranny which Eadicalism 
sets up*, we can understand the mischief it would 
do in England, if ever it w 7 ere triumphant ; and we 
are inclined to regard the aristocracy, which there 
exercises such strength, as one of the necessary 
guarantees for freedom. I was present eight or 
nine years ago in the Hanover Square Rooms, 
at crowded meetings, among which were the flower 
of the English aristocracy, the leaders of the Tory 
party ; and where, on sofas placed at the foot 
of the platform, w T ere seated princes of the'Eoyal 
Family, ministers of state, and bishops. The 
speaker who electrified these large meetings was 
Chalmers, that prince of British orators. Some- 
times energetic words in favour of political liberty, 

* This was written after the revolution of the Canton de Vaud. 



82 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

and of the independence of the church, fell from 
his burning lips ; for he was then bearing witness 
in London, in the Queen's Concert Room, to the 
same truths which, five years after, he maintained 
in the rustic hall of the Cannon Mills at Edinburgh. 
He alluded to the saying, so famous in England, 
that every Englishman's house is his castle; he 
repeated those well-known words, that no one has 
a right to enter it : " The king cannot — the king 
" dare not." And then, returning suddenly to the 
church, he declared that the political power could 
not meddle with her doctrine and her spiritual ad- 
ministration ; and thus, taking his stand as it were 
at the door of the church, he hurled forth these 
words, which resounded like thunder through the 
assembly : " The king cannot — the king dare not." 
When Chalmers had thus spoken in the honour of 
true liberty before this English aristocracy, think 
not that murmurs were heard around ; no, there 
was unbounded applause. Loud acclamations arose 
from this multitude of noblemen and Tories ; and 
when this cheering had finished, it began again, 
and was thus three times renewed. I then saw 
the fine and venerable head of the Duke of Cam- 
bridge, the queen's uncle, nodding with an expres- 
sion of the most cordial acquiescence. I was 
confounded. " How magical," thought I, " is 
eloquence ! " — " Do you know," said I, as I went 
out, to a Tory friend who accompanied me, " that 
"if on the Continent, even in France, they were 
u to hear this applause given, such homage reri- 



ENGLAND. 83 

" dered to liberty, they would think themselves, 
" I am certain, in a conventicle of Carbonari." I 

remember St- n's smile as he somewhat proudly 

replied, " It is the Tories, who are in England the 
" guardians of liberty." 

Liberty is, in fact, the passion of every English- 
man. What Tacitus said of the Britons, is still 
characteristic of them. " They respect power, but 
" they cannot suffer the abuse of it. They know 
" how to obey, but not how to serve." * 

Such, then, are these common people, so full of 
intelligence and activity ; these rich men, so simple 
and so generous ; these nobles, so amiable and so 
fond of liberty. It is a remarkable nation which is 
the result of such an assemblage. What enthu- 
siasm among all classes of this people for great 
ideas ! It is ideas, indeed, which thrill this people 
when a foreigner, whose name is linked with some 
principle or some illustration, comes to visit them. 
It matters not whether he belongs to the highest or 
to the lowest degree of the social scale. We know 
how they welcomed Marshal Soult, who had fought 
against England, but who was in their eyes the 
personification of French glory ; and humble and 
obscure individuals have also been received witli 
unheard of kindness, merely because their names 
were considered by our insular friends as attached 
to some great idea, — to that, for instance, of the 

* " Ut pareant nondum ut serviant." Tacit. Agr, 13. 

G 2 



84 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Reformation. In this respect, I will not say 
merely, that England surpasses the Continent ; 
there is nothing like it among us. Our people are, 
as it were, insensible and dead, while the people of 
Great Britain are full of feeling and life. It is a 
nation complete in all its parts ; our nations, in this 
respect, are mutilated. It is true that Germany 
begins to present some manifestations of this kind ; 
but it is to be regretted that they are not in the 
best of causes. 

It is not the masses merely, that give this warm 
welcome to a stranger ; what shall I say of that 
frank hospitality which is met with throughout 
England and Scotland ? It is true, that in Britain 
every house is more closed to what is without, 
than is the case in France and in Germany. But 
even this circumstance gives more liberty and in- 
dependence within. When once a stranger is re- 
ceived into a house, he becomes a member of the 
family ; he meets with the same freedom, the same 
cordiality. 1 met with no strangers in England 
and Scotland ; everywhere I found friends and 
brothers. 

In these houses you are struck with the order 
and discipline that reigns throughout ; and at the 
same time, if it is a Christian household, with the 
excellent spirit that pervades all. I have been 
occasionally present at the dwelling of a nobleman, 
or of a merchant, or of a bishop, and sometimes 
of a plain minister, at the morning or evening 
worship. You may see a score of servants, male and 



ENGLAND. 85 

female, come in to the room like a file of soldiers ; 
at the end of the march they turn round, as regu- 
larly as a regiment of the line, and sit down. But 
together with this discipline, the gravity of these 
people, their attention, and the devotion with which 
they bow the knee before God, are something im- 
posing. These English households are the house- 
holds of Christian patriarchs. 



III. 



DEFECTS. 



Though I admire in many respects the wealth 
and aristocracy of Britain, I do not close my eyes 
to certain abuses which sometimes arise from them. 
Why should I conceal them ? does not the Bible 
say, " Open rebuke is better than secret love ? " 
This is the best friendship. 

As we look at certain features of English soci- 
ety, we cannot help thinking that some of its mem- 
bers are, so to speak, overloaded, overwhelmed by 
the very weight of their riches. The search after 
the comfortable and the fashionable is carried to 
an excess, which often detracts from the search 
after enjoyments more intellectual, more spiritual, 
and more pure. Houses, clothes, the table, plate, 
equipages, powdered footmen, are all made and 

G 3 



86 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

organised in such a manner as to attract attention 
and even surprise ; and one of the pleasures of the 
nobility and gentry is to drive every day through 
Kegent Street, Hyde Park, and elsewhere, with a 
parade of horses, carriages, and liveries. This is 
beneath such a people. True, my opinion is only 
that of a foreigner, and I merely state my doubts 
to the children of Britain. I speak freely of their 
faults, but it is for them to decide ; I accept by 
anticipation the verdict of the wise among their 
own people. 

It has always appeared to me that there is 
in all this a certain littleness of mind, and that 
England would be greater without her fashionable 
slavery. One would think that, in order to buy 
their liberty in the gross, the English make them- 
selves slaves in detail — slaves to fashion. The 
queen, powerless among her people, is an autocrat 
in her court. 

What brings so many English families to the 
Continent ? Various motives, no doubt ; but fre- 
quently the fear of not being able to shine in 
England as much as their equals. There is a 
tendency among certain Englishmen to estimate a 
man, not by his intrinsic qualities, by his intel- 
lectual or moral worth, but by his fortune and his 
rank. Wealth is with them the chief of merits ; and 
when they wish to know a man's standing in society, 
they ask, " What is he worth ?" The sum of his 
wealth is also the sum of his value. When a party 
is assembled in one of the fine drawing-rooms of 



ENGLAND. 87 

the aristocratic towns of England, and when dinner 
is announced, the master of the house generally 
points out to each of the gentlemen the lady to 
whom he is to offer his arm, to lead her to the 
dining room. All this is arranged with great care, 
according to rank and fortune ; and sometimes, very 
seldom no doubt, the stranger has to go in the last. 
We must, however, except the houses of the high 
aristocracy. In England, the greater they are, the 
more regard they exhibit towards the little. The 
foreigner nowhere meets with so much attention 
and kindness as in the fine mansions of the earls, 
marquises, and dukes of the United Kingdom. 

With these worldly defects, which I have now 
pointed out, even Christians have been reproached, 
and we have perhaps reason to inquire how far the 
reproach is deserved. Much has been said of the 
worldly, the fashionable Christianity of England. 
We must observe, in the first place, that it is not 
only among the nobility that such Christianity is 
to be found ; and we must even add, that in the 
highest families of England, there are instances of 
piety, spirituality, and of true simplicity, which 
are scarcely to be found elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, a real danger exists. Wealth and 
grandeur are two elements not in exact harmony 
with true Christianity. This the Scriptures them- 
selves declare. These two circumstances throw 
difficulties in the way of a Christian life. The 
renunciation of self, of the world, and of its pomps 
and vanities, must be essential to true piety. 

G 4 



88 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh 
" with its affections and lusts;" and the Word of 
God says to all, " Mortify, therefore, your mem- 
" bers which are upon the earth." Those Christians 
who are living in the midst of abundance, and in 
the high places of society, must have more difficulty 
in fulfilling such commandments, and consequently 
need a greater degree of watchfulness. 

But we may sometimes go too far, and re- 
quire from them things which the Word of God 
does not demand. On the one hand, the Christian 
should make a decided separation between Chris- 
tianity and the world ; yet, on the other, the 
world, considered as the creation of God, ought 
not to be entirely rejected. It is only necessary 
that all things should be made new. The natural 
faculties of man should not be annihilated, but 
sanctified, glorified, and devoted to God. The 
natural gifts of God are not to be despised, as 
an extreme puritanism may do, but enjoyed with 
" giving of thanks," as St. Paul says. When we 
behold the riches of the creation which David 
enumerates in the 104th Psalm, we have only to 
exclaim with him, " Bless the Lord, my soul ! " 

Puritanism or ascetism rejects the enjoyments 
of the natural life, because it considers them as 
tainted, saturated with sin. Doubtless, " the 
" whole world lieth in wickedness," but this is 
one side of Christianity; there is another which 
says, " Ye are bought with a price ; therefore, 
" glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which 



ENGLAND. 89 

" are God's." Puritanism does not perceive with 
sufficient clearness that this redemption is universal ; 
that it is for the body as well as for the spirit ; and 
that it is to be realised in every phase of the na- 
tural life. There is nothing which is not capable 
of being redeemed ; even riches, and nobility are 
so : they are to be redeemed and consecrated to 
God. 

We may, it is true, be too precipitate in this 
business. Puritanism is right not to yield too 
hastily to this glorification of the whole life. If 
we hurry forward in this work, it may only prove 
at last a vain imagination. The renewing of our 
nature is not to be accomplished in a day ; we 
must go on progressively, step by step. There are 
some natures especially, which require to remain 
a long time in the lower degrees. The foundation 
of repentance, of conversion, of faith, and of spiritual 
baptism, must be well laid, before* as St. Paul says 
to the Hebrews, we " go on to perfection." 

Puritanism is, therefore, right in insisting upon 
the work of renewal, and in fixing the mind upon 
it. When I speak of Puritanism, I ask myself 
whether it still exists in England ? whether it has 
not fallen under the influence of national develop- 
ments, and the sneers of novelists ? whether, in 
fine, it would not be necessary to go back to the 
seventeenth century in order to meet with it ? or 
whether the Oxford asceticism has not now taken 
its place ? Yet if, with the Gospel, we must insist 
on the necessity of dying to the world, we must 



90 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

still, with faith, advance towards life, to that life 
which in God enjoys all lawful blessings. The fault 
of puritanism and asceticism consists in hurling 
against an order of things (which proceeds from 
the Creator, and which ought to be brought back 
to God,) an interdict too pitiless, and an excom- 
munication too general. Thus, Protestant puri- 
tanism and Roman asceticism easily assume the ap- 
pearance of a forced piety and of a mere profession 
of Christianity. No doubt, with regard to the 
things of this life, Y\ r e should neither buy, sell, 
possess, nor enjoy, but with moderation and watch- 
fulness. We should " use this world as not 
" abusing it : for the fashion of this world passeth 
" away." * But, on the other hand, it is sinful to 
despise and reject the gifts of God, and it is not 
even allowable to treat them with indiiference. 
They are, in truth, " seducing spirits," who teach 
" doctrines of devils," who " forbid marriage, and 
" command us to abstain from meats, which God 
" hath created to be received with thanksgiving of 
" them which believe and know the truth. For 
" every creature of God is good, and nothing to be 
u refused, if it be received with thanksgiving." j* 

Christianity must be carried into every sphere of 
human existence, — into literature and science, into 
domestic and public life, into commerce, into the 
navy and army, and into politics. And, perhaps — 
let us do England this justice — perhaps there is 

* 1 Cor. vii. 31. | * Tim - iv - x ~ 4 - 



ENGLAND. 91 

no nation which so well responds to this divine 
call. Of all lives, the Christian life is the most 
domestic, the most social, the most literary, the 
most scientific, for it is of all lives the most 
humanising. This is what one of its earliest apo- 
logists incessantly repeated to the Pagans. " We 
" remember," says Tertullian, " that we ought 
" to give thanks to God, and we refuse no work 
" of his hand. We are not without a forum, 
" not without markets, not without workshops ; 
" we live in the same age with you. We navi- 
" gate, we make war, we farm, we trade with you. 
u We are your brethren by the law of nature ; Ave 
" have the same mother." * There is, I repeat it, 
no other nation — and this is England's highest 
glory — in which we see Christianity carried so 
truly, and often so decidedly, into every station of 
life, — into the peasant's cottage and on board the 
ships of war, behind the counter and amidst the 
camp, into the workshop and the halls of the uni- 
versities, into the offices of the lower clerks and 
the Houses of Parliament, into the humble abodes 
of the poor and the cabinet council. This is right. 
It was necessary for the salvation of the world 
that the Word should be once made manifest in 
the flesh, and that this miracle should be contin- 

* Meminimus nos gratiam debere Deo, nullum fructum ope- 
rum ejus repudiamus. Itaque non sine foro, non sine macello, 
non sine omciis; cohabitanius vestrumnos saeculum. Navigamus, 
inilitamus, rusticamur, et mercatus miscemur. Fratres etiam 
vestri sunius, jure naturae, matris unius. (Tertul. Apolog.) 



92 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

ually renewed in a spiritual sense. We may say 
that Christianity is truly made man in England. 

But here, we say again, lies the danger. This 
spiritual and legitimate secularisation of the Gos- 
pel in Britain, is a reaction against the extreme 
puritanism of the seventeenth century. The hu- 
man mind rushes willingly from one extreme to 
another. If slavery to fashion and the display of 
vanity are faults even in the worldly, how much 
more so are they in true Christians. There must 
be oil in the lamp ! Let England therefore beware. 

I have to point out another of the dangers of 
grandeur and opulence. There is something patri- 
archal in the immense possessions of the English 
and Scotch nobility ; in those estates covered with 
inhabitants ; in those populations which depend 
almost entirely on their lords, and who might be 
their fathers. How much good has been done 
and is still doing by these lords, by their wives, 
and by their daughters ; how many churches and 
schools have been erected at their expense ! How 
often have angels of Christian charity been seen 
gliding into humble cottages, carrying consolation, 
assistance, and even instruction ! Nothing of this 
kind is to be seen to the same degree in other 
countries. 

Nevertheless, these large properties of the no- 
bility, which sometimes entirely exclude the 
small proprietors, produce a melancholy impres- 
sion. When I have been walking in one of those 
beautiful English parks, so fresh and verdant, so 



ENGLAND. 93 

dotted with stately trees, so charming with the 
graceful undulations of the soil and with their 
beautiful lakes, I occasionally felt an indescribable 
sadness. I saw nothing but foliage upon foliage ; 
the only sign of life was the cawing of the rooks, 
necessary inhabitants of these velvet glades. " Oh, 
" who can restore me," thought I, " those smiling 
" habitations, the delightful hamlets, the lively 
" villages of my own Switzerland ? " I gazed 
anxiously around, trying to discover among the 
trees the appearance of a roof; and could I but 
perceive the slightest trace, I ran forwards that 
I might see some peasant, man or woman — some 
symptom of life ! 

This is still more striking in Scotland. You 
may travel for miles through the Highlands, with- 
out meeting other inhabitants than thousands of 
sheep feeding in solitude. " Were I in Switzer- 
" land," I said to myself, " these hill-sides would 
" be divided among several small owners : here 
" would be a farm, there a chalet, and everywhere 
" the animation of a free people." Yet there are 
some exceptions. When I drew near that charm- 
ing site at the extremity of Loch Tay, close by 
the romantic Kenmore, on which rises the stately 
palace of the Breadalbanes (many Genevese will 
remember that the present Marquis of Breadalbane, 
then Lord Glenorchy, visited their city twenty-five 
or thirty years ago), I was delighted to find the 
country clotted with pretty cottages, covered with 
roses, and to see healthy, ruddy children, playing 



94 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

before their smiling homes. It was like an oasis 
created by the beneficence of a Christian lord. 
But in general there is a desert. It is not long 
since, instead of the system of small farms, the 
landlords have substituted large ones, and the un- 
fortunate small farmers, finding themselves outbid, 
have been obliged to forsake their beloved moun- 
tains, and emigrate either to the Antipodes, to 
New Holland, or to throw themselves into the ever 
open and ever devouring gulf of the manufacturing 
towns of England or Scotland. It often happens 
that one lord is the sole proprietor of a whole 
county, from one sea to another; and he can, as 
has often been done within these few years, refuse 
the Christians who inhabit his estate, a site of 
thirty feet square in which they may worship God. 
It would be a glorious task for the statesmen 
who preside over the destiny of Britain, and whom 
no difficulties can deter, to seek some legal means 
of establishing small properties in Scotland, and 
delivering the country from the oppression of a 
few lairds. 

I have already said, that the opulent merchants 
and manufacturers of England wear their riches well. 
How can I recount all that is admirable in those mer- 
cantile and manufacturing towns, which sixty years 
ago were perhaps mere villages, and which are now 
among the most powerful cities in the world ? Cer- 
tainly the inhabitants may well have a feeling of 
pride ; and that feeling is a right one, when accom- 
panied with gratitude to God. Not without great 






ENGLAND. 95 

virtues could such prosperity have arisen. Whether 
we consider those ports filled with ships from every 
quarter of the globe, among which tower Colos- 
sus-like, those floating islands moved by steam ; or 
whether we contemplate those vast manufactories, 
in which the productions of the earth are so rapidly 
transformed, and where hundreds of workmen, and 
thousands of machines are going on with wonder- 
ful order, activity, noise, and calmness, you cer- 
tainly see before your eyes one of the finest 
spectacles that man can behold. I remember a 
short trip I made with an excellent friend from 
Liverpool, to visit that immense steam-ship, the 
Great Britain, then lying in the docks of that city.* 
I still fancy I can see the forests of masts of the 
ships which filled the basins, and the universal and 
perpetual bustle which the Roads presented. One 
seems at such a moment to be placed in a situation 
whence, as from an exceeding high mountain, we 
can behold " all the kingdoms of the world, and 
" the glory of them ■" and that the whole earth is 
brought before our view, with the ships that cover 
it, with its towns, its shores, and its most distant 
islands. From Liverpool Roads we survey the 
globe. 

Yet here, also, there is a reverse to the medal ; 
let us then turn it. What a contrast is exhibited 



* Since wrecked on the Irish coast, whence, after twelve 
months, it was, by immense exertion, floated off and towed back 
to Liverpool. 



96 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

between the smiling meadows of England and the 
fresh Highlands of Scotland, with the manufactur- 
ing cities ! When we walk through these dirty 
towns covered with coal-dust, whence, instead of 
the elegant spires of our Gothic steeples pointing 
to the skies, nothing but gigantic chimneys soar 
towards heaven ; when we are surrounded by a 
stifling atmosphere, incessantly fed by volumes 
of smoke vomited forth from the blackened mouths 
of these tall and formal pyramids, and heavily 
descending again in clouds upon factories and 
houses, and obscuring the light of day ; when we 
see the population of the country crowding into 
these narrow and unwholesome streets ; oh, we 
would rather a hundred times that these poor 
families should have remained in their fields, cul- 
tivating and enlivening them, peopling them with 
a healthy and vigorous youth, and making them 
resound with their pious hymns ! 

What, alas ! is the fate which in such large cities 
awaits these humble country people, either with 
regard to their physical or their moral existence ? 
There is no country in which so much is done for 
the poor as in England : legal charity perhaps even 
goes too far. Numerous Christian and philan- 
thropic societies are instituted to afford aid to all 
kinds of misery. More is done for this purpose in 
England than on the whole of the Continent put 
together, and yet the evil is not checked. You 
may sometimes see one of those rich and brilliant 
streets of London slowly traversed by a human 



ENGLAND. 97 

form, pale, dirty, frail, and tottering : is it man or 
woman ? one can hardly tell. This phantom, a 
type of the lowest wretchedness, has come from its 
abode, perhaps only a few paces off, in some close 
alley hidden behind these stately mansions ; and 
made its appearance in another world, as if to 
accuse it the more fearfully from its very silence. 
I remember one clay passing through the Strand, 
one of the busiest streets of the capital, when I 
saw stopping before a splendid provision ware- 
house, in which all the most tempting delicacies 
that luxury could furnish were displayed, one of 
these human forms, dressed in a coat which had 
once been black, with shapeless hat and listless 
arms, trembling legs and hollow cheeks, and 
eyes, though sunken, yet fixed with longing look 
upon those exquisite dainties, from which only a 
thin pane of glass separated him. The rich display 
in its gilded frame, and that living skeleton ! here, 
in two strokes, is the picture of London. 

Not far from thence I heard one day in St. Dun- 
stan's church, I think the most eloquent preacher 
of the metropolis as regards the form of his dis- 
courses. Mr. M 's sermon was the history 

of a young man. He took him from the cradle 
in the fields of his birth-place : we beheld him 
growing and improving, happy and joyous in the 
midst of his family : when he was setting out for 
the capital, we heard the discourse of his father 
and his mother ; he embraced them, and departed 
full of the best resolutions. He arrived in Lon- 

H 



98 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

don : lie resisted the first time the seductions of 
young men of his own age ; but he was not so firrn 
the second time. His struggles, his remorse, his 
backslidings were all painted in the most striking 
colours. At length, seized by sickness, the reward 
of his misconduct, we saw him on his deathbed, 
restless, terrified, expiring without hope. But the 
orator went still farther : he carried his whole au- 
ditory into hell itself, and showed them the 
wretched youth crying out, " Mountains fall on 
" us, and hide us from the wrath of the Lamb !'" 
Alas, how often has this dismal history proved a 
sad reality ! 

One of the greatest evils of England is the want 
of instruction for the people ; an omission on the 
part either of the church or of the state. There 
are, doubtless, Christian efforts by which they en- 
deavour to supply it ; and these efforts, I say again, 
infinitely surpass all similar ones made elsewhere. 
Much, very much, has been done, and yet these are 
but insufficient palliatives. Even the rivalry of 
the different Christian communions sometimes 
opposes the good they would wish to do. Not long 
since we received a visit from a very distinguished 
member of parliament, closely connected with a 
statesman who some years ago was at the head of 
the British government. He came to the Con- 
tinent for the purpose of studying elementary 
instruction. I sent him to the Director of the 
Normal School of Lausanne, with whom he was 
much pleased. Since that time, we have had 



« ENGLAND. 99 

many visits of the same kind ; every one feels 
that something ought to be clone : yet, notwith- 
standing the most powerful means of action, and the 
most earnest and sincere desires ; notwithstand- 
ing even the most valuable labours, the English 
have not yet succeeded in finding a sufficiently 
efficacious remedy for the physical and moral 
wretchedness of the poor. I am not the only one 
who sees this state of things in such dark colours. 
" A former will not is punished by a present cannot" 
says a Christian Protestant writer, Dr. Sack ; and 
another, the Abbe Dr. Luke, exclaims at the sight 
of this evil : " Oh, what a shadow in the bright 
" picture of English life ! An ecclesiastical institu- 
" tion, stiff, liturgical, technical, and episcopal if 
" you will, but without a well-informed people, 
" without a living flock — where, I ask, where can 
"this lead to?" 



IV. 



PIETY AND DUTY. 

And yet, if there is now the will, I cannot allow 
that there is no longer the power. There would 
be the power to remedy this evil, if the influen- 
tial men of England were to unite in trusting 

H 2 



100 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. * 

to Him of whom it is said, " I can do all things 
" through Christ, who strengthened me." 

Now, most politicians in England show, it is true, 
but little liking to the Gospel ; yet there is some- 
thing in the people which can still inspire much 
hope, and this is the power of religious feeling, and 
of Christian principle, so strong in Britain. 

It may be said, that the people of Britain have 
more conscientiousness than any other. I mean a 
true consciousness of what they ought to be ac- 
cording to the will of God. Knowledge, science, 
is the idol of the Germans, and they know more 
perhaps than any other. Honour is the idol 
of the French, and none have heaped up so 
many military trophies. The British have an in- 
stinctive feeling of a vocation they have received 
from above, of a talent entrusted to them, which 
is to be made available over the whole earth, 
and they go forward in this work with enthusiasm 
and perseverance. There is yet much to be done 
in this respect. Interests, entirely temporal, and 
quite opposed to justice, too often predominate in 
the nation ; and several melancholy instances of 
this might be adduced.* For England to attain to 
her high calling, conscience must become the 
moving principle of her people, and the religion 
of the Gospel the soul that animates the nation. 
It is in individuals that this work must commence; 

* In China, for example. 



ENGLAND. 101 

but, as soon as it is within the individual, it will 
exhibit itself in the whole mass. If, even in our 
own times, we have beheld in this nation great in- 
consistencies ; if the most eminent men have been 
but " reeds shaken by the wind ; " if they have 
rushed from one extreme to another; and such 
glaring apostacies have moved the whole people : 
it is because the primary principle — the Christian 
basis was wanting. It is not of the corn laws, but 
of the religious questions that I speak. 

There is no people to whom religion is so neces- 
sary as to the British. The material, agricultural, 
manufacturing, and mercantile interests are so 
predominant, that, were not religion to counter- 
balance them, the nation would be undone. The 
energetic activity which distinguishes the Britons ; 
those gigantic enterprises that characterise them; 
the founding of an immense empire in India ; 
the gates of China, which her powerful hand has 
wrenched open ; that creation of Australia ; those 
expeditions to the poles and to every climate ; that 
abolition of the slave trade and of slavery itself, — 
all these giant-like labours require that a pure 
religion should animate the people, that oil should 
be always pouring into the lamp, and that a truly 
moral force should inspire, moderate, and direct all 
these efforts. If the Britons, and even the Ger- 
mans, are much better colonisers than the French, 
and the nations under the Papal rule, it is to the 
Gospel that they are indebted for it. Neither is 
this all. Even the admirable political institutions 

H 3 



102 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

of Britain have need of the rule of faith ; the liberal 
in politics should be conservative in religion. If 
the people of the United States, notwithstanding 
their many elements of disorder and dissolution, 
are not only still in existence, but increasing more 
and more in power and importance, it is because 
they are the sons of the Puritans. 

From the very moment that England begins to 
yield ; nay, from the moment she ceases to press 
onward in religion, we think she will decline to- 
wards her abasement, perhaps to her ruin. Evil 
elements are not wanting. She possesses, to a 
greater extent perhaps than any other country, a 
low, impious, and impure literature ; and the efforts 
made to diffuse it among the people are very great. 
If once the mighty flood-gates, which religion and 
morality oppose to these infamous publications, are 
thrown down, the torrent will break forth and over- 
whelm the whole nation with its poisonous waters. 

Yet, though we wish that England should im- 
prove, we do not shut our eyes to her excellencies. 
I know of no manifestations of Christianity more 
attractive than those I have met with in some of 
the ministers and evangelical Christians of the 
Church of England. The essential principles of 
Christian truth are by none, perhaps, maintained 
with so great a purity, and so indomitable a firm- 
ness. Yet, at the same time, there is in these 
friends something so spiritual, so heartfelt, so full 
of grace, in short, that you are subdued by them. 
I know not whether even the defects of their 



ENGLAND. 103 

cliurcli are not advantageous to tliem. The cliurcli 
is imperfect, the ecclesiastical bond is weak, no one 
scarcely has any thing to say about church govern- 
ment. This, with many ministers and members of 
the church, is productive of serious inconveniences ; 
yet the result is, with others, that their whole being 
is turned, as it were, towards God. That Christian 
piety which is diffused over all the world, pos- 
sesses in the episcopal church of England some of 
its noblest representatives. 

Eight or nine years ago I spent a Sunday at 
Cambridge. The dean of Trinity College, who 
had afforded me hospitality, took me to Trinity 
Church, of which he was the pastor, and placed me 
in his pew. Another person entered it shortly after. 
As he wore the university costume I took him for 
a student, or, at most, a Master of Arts. When the 
service commenced, my neighbour reverently knelt 
down and began, according to custom, to repeat the 
prayers in a low voice. Never shall I forget those 
humble and pious accents ; every one of them, 
coming from his inmost bosom, sank into my own. 
I seemed to have entered the closet in which an 
elect soul was communing with his Saviour. 
Never, perhaps, have I spent an hour more truly 
edifying. When the prayers were finished, I looked 
at my neighbour with devout regard; I was won- 
dering who he could be, when I saw him rise, go 
towards the pulpit, and ascend it for the sermon. 
It was Mr. B — —who was then on a journey for 
the Church Missionary Society, in which he took 

H 4 



104 TEAVELLING KECOLLECTIONS. 

and still takes an interest no less lively than that 
which he has subsequently shown in the cause of 
Christian union. I understand how he can com- 
pose so many admirable works upon Prayer, on the 
Lord's Supper, &c, from which so many souls have 
been refreshed as from Jacob's Well. He is in my 
opinion one of the types of a good evangelical En- 
glish clergyman. 

But it is not merely of these chosen ones that 
I would here speak ; it is of the people. There is 
among them a universal religious feeling, a general 
awe of the name of God, of the Invisible Judge. 
Does this arise from nationality, or from the dif- 
ferent Christian communions to be found in it ? I 
know not — but even during the time when Deism 
had invaded a certain portion of society, it could 
never entirely efface the deep-seated feeling of the 
holiness of the divine law. Infidelity in England 
was grave, and often moral; while in France it 
was habitually riotous and dissolute. We must, 
however, in justice acknowledge, that there is a 
small nation on the frontiers of France, in which 
this riotous principle has been found, perhaps even 
in greater strength, than among her more powerful 
neighbours This feeling of the holi- 
ness of the Law of God of which I speak, perhaps 
more particularly distinguishes the Christianity of 
England from that of other evangelical nations. 
There the doctrine of free grace is certainly pro- 
claimed as well as elsewhere; but the respect 
shown to the divine law is still more striking. 



ENGLAND. 105 

Duty is an idea but too much forgotten among us, 
while in England it is all important. This nation, 
so powerful and so haughty, bows before the 
thought of duty. It was Nelson's signal to his 
fleet at Trafalgar : " England expects every man 
" to do his duty" — and every man did it. # 

One of the features which most completely brings 
out the character of British Christianity, is the ob- 
servance of the Lord's Day, or the Sabbath as they 
term it, I think, improperly. It is the custom of 
continental travellers, even of Christian ones, to 
complain loudly of the servile and exaggerated ob- 
servance of the clay of rest in Britain, and of all 
the annoyances it causes them. I shall not do so. 
I certainly cannot undertake to defend all the ideas 
that have been put forward upon this subject by 
our insular friends, and all the applications they 
have drawn from them ; but I do not hesitate to 
say, that this submission of a whole people to the 
law of God, is something very impressive, and is 
probably the most incontestable source of the many 
blessings that have been showered on the nation. 
Order and obedience, morality and power, are all 
in Britain connected with the observance of the 
Sunday. Amidst the activity which pervades all 
things, the bustle of the towns, and the energy with 

* The duke of Wellington, being asked if lie had seen a 
French criticism on the fourteen volumes of his Despatches, 
replied in the negative, and inquired, " What do the French 
" say of them ? " He was told, that the reviewer remarked the 
word glory did not once occur, but that duty frequently did. 



106 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

v/hich the inhabitants pursue their earthly callings, 
what would become of them had they not a day 
of rest in which to recruit themselves, and laying 
aside things temporal which are seen, to look for- 
ward to things eternal which are unseen ? (2 Cor. 
iv. 18.) 

A mighty struggle is now going on in this 
cause; and at the head of those who stand up 
for the maintenance of religious principles and 
national manners, is Sir Andrew Agnew, a worthy 
Scotchman, to whom I had ihe pleasure of being 
introduced. Many meetings at which he presided, 
have been held in Edinburgh, in favour of the 
sanctification of the Lord's Day, now so violently 
threatened. The railroads, like a terrible batter- 
ing-ram, are incessantly striking against this 
ancient stronghold of the Christian habits of 
Britain. In Scotland, there is no travelling on 
most of the railroads on Sundays ; but on that 
from Glasgow to Edinburgh, in which English 
shareholders, who assert that all days are alike, are 
more numerous, two special trains had been kept 
up on that day, to carry the mails before and after 
divine service. The Christians did not abandon 
their cause, and at last they gained the victory. 
When I was in Scotland it had not yet been won ; 
and, in the meanwhile, Christians abstained from 
travelling on that line. As we were leaving Edin- 
burgh, a Christian lady who was to have accom- 
panied us to Fairlie, beyond Glasgow, told us that 
she would take the stage coach to the latter town. 



ENGLAND. 107 

When I arrived in Glasgow by the railroad, I went 
with a friend to the coach office ; the lady had not 
arrived. " But what advantage is there," said I, 
" in using this slow conveyance, when it sets out 
" much sooner and arrives much later ? " " The 
" train," replied the friend who was with, me, " runs 
" on Sundays, and we only use it, even on week- 
" days, in cases of necessity. The coach does not go 
"on Sundays, and therefore we prefer it." Thus, 
while the railroads were every where driving the 
stage coaches off the roads, this zeal for the sanctifi- 
cation of theLord's Day still kept them up between 
Edinburgh and Glasgow. Unfortunately, this is not 
the case in England. Not only do the trains run on 
Sundays, but a considerable reduction in the fares 
is often made on that day ; thus offering temptations 
to the common people, who, for a trifling sum, can 
thus transport themselves to a considerable distance 
to engage in their diversions. In a meeting held 
at Edinburgh on the 27th of February, 1846, it 
was stated, that there were no fewer than 600 dif- 
ferent trains running on Sundays in various parts 
of England, and that sometimes they are so long, 
that they need six engines to draw them (the fa- 
mous and terrible train of Versailles had only two) ; 
that they have sqmetimes consisted of 147 car- 
riages, carrying 1710 passengers, and reaching the 
length of half a mile. There are now to be seen in 
the streets, placards with gigantic letters, announc- 
ing that pleasure trains will run on Sunday at 
half price. Certainly, this is enough to justify the 



108 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

saying of a Christian of German Switzerland, an 
old federal colonel, who used to say, " Our Lord, 
" when he appeared in the world, came on foot ; 
" the devil, when he comes, will travel by the rail- 
" way." Yes, no doubt, if a remedy is not found 
out for this evil, immorality and disorder will be 
brought into England by these new roads. The 
old British habits are disappearing. This claims 
the earnest attention of the friends of religion and 
of their country. 

The English people might, doubtless, throw off 
the yoke of Sabbath observance ; as they have 
abolished the corn laws. Sad manifestations some- 
times break forth on this subject in the House of 
Commons, and even in the House of Lords! But 
we believe that the British nation is too much 
interested in preserving it, lightly to throw away 
the keeping of the Lord's Day. Though to many 
it may be a yoke, they will bear it without repining, 
convinced that by discipline alone liberty can 
be preserved among a people. To those of our 
continental friends who complain of the strict 
forms they meet with in Britain, we would reply, 
" Do you not see it is at the price of these very 
" forms, that this people possesses such great poli- 
" tical, and religious freedom ? You on the Con- 
" tinent are more lax in regard to religious in- 
" stitutions ; you smile at these strict forms : but 
" you have either no liberty at all, or you have only 
" its excesses." Where there is much public freedom, 
each individual must watch over himself. Great 



ENGLAND. 109 

characters are not to be formed without severe 
discipline. We say again, the severity of England 
as to the Lord's Day and other institutions, is in our 
eyes an essential feature of the national character, 
and an imperative condition of the greatness and 
prosperity of her people. 

I must here point out, although the association 
may appear singular, another manifestation of a 
very different kind, but opposed, like the Sunday 
trains, to this principle of respect for the divine 
law, which has hitherto been one of the charac- 
teristics of the English nation. I mean Puseyism. 
In fact, the essence of Puseyism is to set up the 
law of the church above the divine law ; the tra- 
ditions of men above the Word of God. I have 
elsewhere shown the principal features of the Oxford 
theology *, and will not repeat what I have there 
written, I shall only add, that two of the greatest 
dangers which threaten England are, worldliness, 
which by means of the railroads endeavours to 
make the law of the flesh prevail over the law of 
God ; and Puseyism, which with the aid of sur- 
plices, and a few paltry traditions, seeks to overturn 
the law of the Lord by the law of the church. 
The latter of these manifestations is, in my view, 
no better than the former. Let us hope that, in 
both cases, the sincere attachment of the British 
people for the holy law of God will obtain the 
victory. 

* " Geneva and Oxford." 



110 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 



V. 



THE ARTICLES AND THE ORATORS. 

There are two elements essential to a church; 
the one fixed, and always the same ; the other 
active, and always new : the former is the doctrine, 
the latter the life. These two elements are to be 
found in a remarkable degree in the Church of 
England. The former manifests itself in its articles 
of faith, the latter in all its Christian societies. 

The Thirty-nine Articles have often been at- 
tacked. It has been asserted, that by maintaining 
them the church puts a stop to every spontaneous 
manifestation of faith, and destroys all spiritual 
freedom ; the signing of them has been looked upon 
as a mere matter of form, a superstition, an act 
of hypocrisy. 

We must own, that in certain cases these re- 
proaches may have some foundation. The Articles 
presuppose a certain degree of Christian experience : 
if there are men who have not realised this expe- 
rience, and who, nevertheless, sign the Articles, 
there is indeed on their part either illusion or 
hypocrisy. They ought to consider these Articles 
as the very voice of God, calling upon them to look 
into their own hearts, and to examine themselves 
upon the faith professed by the church ; and they 



ENGLAND. Ill 

ought not to sign them, so long as this confession is 
not the real expression of their own personal faith. 

As for those who know what salvation in Christ 
really is, what harm can the Articles do them ? 
None ! indeed, rather the reverse. Every true 
Christian has a spiritual life, an inward history, com- 
posed of distinct phases — faith, repentance, justi- 
fication, and conversion, sanctification, peace, joy, 
and hope. It is requisite, both for the sake of others 
as for his own, that he should profess the great doc- 
trines to which his inner life corresponds. Poor and 
ignorant Christians — and these are the greater 
number — would not know how to do this. If the 
church to which they belong presents to them an 
evangelical confession of faith, at once plain and 
profound, it renders them a very useful assistance. 
Theologians could, no doubt, without a creed 
easily give utterance to their faith; but we 
must think first of the poor and simple of the 
flock, of those of whom the Lord said, "I thank 
" thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that 
" thou hast hid these things from the wise and 
" prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."* 

Men of the world regard the Articles of Faith of 
the Reformation as antiquated forms, become un- 
meaning in the present age. This error arises 
from their having never experienced in their 
hearts that faith in Christ which is the same in 
every age. Those confessions of Christian hope 

* Matt. xi. 25. 



112 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

which our fathers made even in the face of Koine, 
and for the sake of which so many martyrs have 
ascended the scaffold, can never grow old, can never 
lose that divine fire which the Holy Spirit imparted 
to them. It has been said, u The Articles are 
" useless to the church, the Bible is sufficient." 
But most frequently, at least upon the Continent, 
those who will not have confessions of faith, will 
not have the Bible either. Very lately, one of the 
most eminent Protestant clergymen of Germany, 
Dr. Amnion, first preacher of the court at Dresden, 
a rationalist, but yet an enlightened theologian, made 
this candid avowal: "Experience teaches us, that 
" those who reject a creed, will speedily reject the 
u Holy Scriptures themselves." 

Of all the churches of the Reformation (with the 
exception of Scotland), the Church of England is 
that in which Articles of Faith bear the most 
important part. The beautiful creeds of the 
church of the fourth century (the Kicene and the 
Athanasian) form a part of her worship ; and it is 
to be regretted that there is not some period of the 
year in which the Thirty-nine Articles are not also 
publicly read in the churches. The importance 
given to doctrine in the Church of England is her 
safeguard. Without it, she would long ago have 
fallen beneath the assaults, not of rationalism, but 
of traditionalism and superstition. Let the minis- 
ters and the members of the church set forth 
and maintain once more the purest doctrines of 
grace, as contained in the Bible, and stated in the 



ENGLAND. 113 

Thirty -nine Articles ; let them raise on high and 
firmly wave that glorious standard, and the evil 
spirits will flee away. 

But while the fixed element, the doctrine, is to 
be found in the Church of England ; life, the active 
element, is not wanting. I should be afraid of the 
former element if the latter were not there. The 
creed alone might impose upon religion a stiffness 
and a monotony, which would be its ruin. But 
in a community where both the fixed and the active 
energies are united, these two contrary elements 
control each other. They are both equally essential 
to every Protestant. church. It has sometimes been 
said, that doctrine is the characteristic of the Komish 
church, and life that of the Reformed churches. 
This is false : doctrine in Rome is but a secondary 
element ; the primary thing with her is Rome 
itself, — the papacy, the hierarchy. In my opinion, 
it is these two agents united, doctrine and life, 
which form the characteristic of Protestantism. 
It is essentially a religion of life, — of that life, of 
which it is said in the Word, " In him was life, 
" and the life was the light of men * :" a life with all 
its varieties and multifarious effects. " To be spiri- 
" tually-minded is life."f 

There is no country in which this vitality is so 
manifested as in Great Britain. The character of 
the people, at once energetic and practical, will not 
allow them to make a mere play of spiritual mat- 

* John, i. 4. f Rom. viii. 6. 



114 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

ters. Action immediately follows affection. All 
the religious and philanthropic societies of Eng- 
land are but the manifestations of life. They are 
the fruits with which a vigorous sap covers the 
tree of faith. It is true that this vital element has 
not reached perfection, either in the Church of 
England or in her dissenting churches. There is 
still much to be done, but we must acknowledge 
what already exists. If the national spirit exhibits 
itself in secular matters, by the vast colonisation 
which encircles the globe ; by those "bold and dis- 
tant conquests which bend beneath the dwellers 
on the Thames, those of the Ganges, the Indus, the 
Cavery, and the Burhampooter ; by that immense 
trade which transports and exchanges the produc- 
tions of the whole earth, — the Christians of England 
have not remained behind in spiritual matters, and 
their extensive missions have followed their mer- 
chants, their colonists, their armies, whithersoever 
they have gone forth. 

Never do the labours of Christian vitality ap- 
pear in England in a more imposing form than 
in the great public meetings which are held in 
London, especially in the month of May. If the 
world, if the despisers of the Sunday, have their 
monster trains ; the worshippers of Jesus Christ 
have their monster meetings, if I may call them so ; 
and these are no doubt the mosi?* remarkable mani- 
festations of the religious spirit of Britain. Cer- 
tainly, the thing most worthy of admiration is not 
the meetings of these societies, but their labours and 



ENGLAND. 115 

their acts. The Bible, Missionary, Tract, and Chris- 
tian Instruction Societies, with many others, are 
the highest glory and the chief strength of England. 
Not only has she taken the lead, but she has nowhere 
been outstripped. The reports of these societies are 
every where ; you have read them over and over 
again. It will therefore be more interesting to give 
you a description of their meetings. 

To speak in that immense area of Exeter Hall, 
to four thousand auditors, — nay, four thousand 
impassioned auditors, — who reply by acclama- 
tions to the least word that finds an echo in 
their hearts, is no trifle, especially to foreigners. 
The remarkable capacity of the English and the 
Scotch for speaking well, clearly, and eloquently, is 
known to every one. This is in some degree a 
natural gift, but it is partly also an acquired one. 
Every son of Britain grows up in the midst of 
public life. Every one accustoms himself to 
think clearly, and to express forcibly, whatever is 
essential in all things. Besides this, the English, 
those at least who speak in these meetings, are 
familiar with the two great treasuries from which 
all elegant diction and eloquence is drawn : the one 
is the Bible, the other is the Greek and Latin classics. 
The art with which these assemblies are prepared, 
the continued progress, the animated, onward 
march which the leaders seek to impress upon them; 
the appearance, at one time of a Syrian, at another 
of a North American Indian, now of a New Zea- 
lander or of a Chinese, in the full costume of their 

i 2 



116 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

respective countries, and each making a speech in 
his turn, like others (I was myself confounded with 
these orators from the different parts of the world) ; 
the art with which the most powerful speakers 
are generally reserved for the conclusion — all 
these things render the meetings overpowering 
and wonderful. If I were asked which affords the 
most exquisite enjoyment to the mind ; the inti- 
mate conversations in a German study, where three 
or four eminent theologians assemble, with whom 
the mind freely ranges over the highest regions of 
thought ; or these stupendous meetings, in which 
the souls of the auditory are drawn on by an orator 
as in a race, are subdued with him, and then on a 
sudden carried away amidst shouts and acclama- 
tions, — were I to be asked which of these two 
enjoyments I prefer, really I should not know on 
which side the balance would incline ; but were I 
to judge of the intensity, or rather the enthusiasm 
of enjoyment, I think I should decide in favour of 
the London or Scottish meetings. Oh, how much 
do we live in those few hours ! how do our hearts 
burn within us ! And yet, after those volcanic ex- 
plosions, and those streams of burning lava which 
flow in torrents, it must be owned, something 
more calm and more intimate is salutary, and we 
love to return to " the waters of Shiloah that go 
"softly." (Isaiah, viii. 6.) 

I will not mention all the admirable orators whom 
I have heard in England and Scotland ; the list 
would be too long. But if I must give the names 



ENGLAND. 117- 

of the lions of eloquence, I would point in Scotland 
to Chalmers *, whose profound intellect and ardent 
heart are displayed through the medium of a diction 
of fervid, I would even say, of Scottish energy, — 
Chalmers, whose lips utter names and fire, so that 
in spite of an accent so strongly provincial as to 
be almost unintelligible to us, the foreigner loses 
not one of his expressions, for the soul of the 
orator reveals what his organ seems to conceal, — 
Chalmers, who fearlessly throws himself into the 
most difficult subjects, because wherever this great 
orator bends his steps a ray of light springs up, 
and makes all clear, — Chalmers, the most powerful 
soul that was ever made subservient to the most 
lucid and vigorous intellect. I would next name 

Dr. C ; at first grave, severe, abrupt, letting his 

sentences fall with a certain monotony, appearing 
torpid, almost asleep ; then all at once bursting 
like a shell amidst the assembly, moving heaven 
and earth, and leaving all his auditory crushed and 
shattered by the thunders of his eloquence. I would 
name also the Rev. T. G , smiling, jesting, scat- 
tering flowers around you, and then soaring like an 
eagle from these gay parterres, among which you 
thought he would leave you, and carrying you with 
him to the highest heavens. 

In England, I would name Dr. H. M C N , 

* I had intended giving the initials only of this eminent 
Christian's name ; but as he has since fallen asleep in the Lord, 
I shall be acquitted of indiscretion if I make him an exception 
to the rule I have generally observed in this volume. 

i 3 



118 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

one of the most commanding figures I ever met with 
in that country, taking his stand before his auditory 
like a general, or like a king ; with unembarrassed 
air, dealing his blows manfully on every side, some- 
times not sparing in his admirable archness even 
the friends that are sitting beside him, and carry- 
ing away his hearers with wonder at the elegance 

of his style. I would mention the Eev. H. S , 

in the pulpit simple and gentle as a lamb, but as 
soon as he steps upon the platform he suddenly 
becomes a lion: head, hands, and feet, are all in 
motion ; you fancy you can see his very mane 
rising on end. But it is not a mere physical 
agitation that animates him ; and, as the stamp 
of Pompey's foot upon the ground caused soldiers 

to arise from it, so do S 's starts and stamps 

bring forth armies which subdue his auditors. 

Lastly, I would name B. N , that man so noble 

and so simple ; whose look is so candid, and whose 
soul so heavenly; who, when he begins, appears 
an unruffled sea lying in the deepest tranquillity. 

But, stay ! little by little the waters move, N 7 s 

soul grows warm, the wind of heaven descends 
and blows, the speaker abandons himself to it 
without restraint, he mounts up to the skies, 
and rises aloft in the midst of lightnings. The 
calm is changed to a sublime tempest, and you feel 
that it is not only on the surface, but to the very 
depths of the abyss, that the sea is stirred. 

You may judge of the enjoyment I received from 
my travels, when I say that all these men, and 



ENGLAND. 119 

many more besides, of talents perhaps not less re- 
markable, welcomed me as a friend and a brother ; 
and that some among them have afforded me hos- 
pitality, so that I could enjoy in their homes, and at 
their tables, for several days, the charms of their 
most intimate conversation. I shall only add, that 
all these speeches are extempore ; this it is, doubt- 
less, which constitutes their beauty. More than 

once I have seen Mr. N , for instance, arrive at 

a meeting in the middle of the proceedings. His 
entrance might be perceived by a murmur of plea- 
sure running through the assembly, if not by noisy 
acclamations. Immediately one of the secretaries 
would go to him, and hand him a card, on one 
side of which was written the motion which they 

requested this powerful orator to second. N 

would listen for a few moments to what was 
going on, as if he would make a note of it, and 
then taking out his pencil, and turning the card, 
would write six or eight words upon the back. 
This was the skeleton of the speech he was about 
to make. Soon after he would rise to speak, and 
a remarkable production of the human mind would 
proceed from these scanty elements. 

If the orators of Britain surpass those of the 
Continent when on the platform (as they call it), 
I cannot say as much of them when they are 
in the pulpit. Here they are inferior, if not to the 
continental preachers, at least to themselves. I do 
not mean to say, however, that their preaching is 
not excellent. I heard in London, in the month 

I 4 



120 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

of July, Mr. B. Sf deliver one of the clearest, 

the most scriptural, and the most eloquent dis- 
courses, upon the assurance of salvation, that I had 
ever heard in England ; and I was the more struck 
by it, as a newspaper affirmed the very next day, I 
think, after this eloquent display, that Mr. B. 

N preached very indifferent sermons. At any 

rate, the editor could not have been at St. J 's 

Chapel on that day. 



VI. 

UNION AND SEPARATION. 

Many of the Exeter Hall meetings are com- 
posed of Christians of different denominations. 
This brings me to one of the objects of my journey 
to England and Scotland, which was to promote the 
grand idea of the union of all Christians of every 
denomination, if they but love and confess Jesus 
Christ as God and Saviour. 

At Liverpool, I was present at a breakfast, of 
five to six hundred covers, where Christians of all 
communions assembled for the first time ; and 
similar meetings took place in almost all the 
towns of England and Scotland through which 
my friends and I passed. We were brethren from 
the Continent, strangers to their disputes, and all 



ENGLAND. 121 

joined with one accord to receive us. This was 
one of the most pleasing incidents of onr journey. 

The breakfast at Liverpool was very animated ; 
sjoeeches succeeded one another with lively rapid- 
ity ; and it was beautiful to witness that mer- 
cantile population bursting forth in the most 
enthusiastic manner at every religious idea. I 
experienced in other places the same enjoyment ; 
and every where felt a happiness of which even 
few Englishmen are able to partake. I have 
come in contact, not only in private conversation, 
but also on public occasions, with Christians of 
every different communion. At Manchester, Bath, 
Bristol, London, and elsewhere, I was called 
upon to speak, as at Liverpool, before numerous 
assemblies, at one time exclusively episcopal and 
national, at another exclusively independent, and, 
occasionally, mixed. Xay, more, I was received 
with equal cordiality by men occupying the most 
different situations. At Fulham, on the delightful 
banks of the Thames, in that palace which, for 
seven or eight centuries, has been inhabited by the 
Bishops of London, being introduced to the present 
bishop by one of those ecclesiastics in his diocese 
for whom he has the highest esteem, the Rev. R. 
B , I was entertained with touching hospi- 
tality at the table, and among the clergy of that 
eminent and active prelate. And nearly at the same 
time, in the library of the Congregational churches, 
in the house of the London Missionary Society, I 
took my seat among the Independents, who cordi- 



122 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

ally invited me to a dinner, at which presided our 
respected friend, Sir Culling Eardley Smith, and at 
which were present some of the missionaries who 
had escaped from the savage invasion of Otaheite. 
Being invited by the Dean of Westminster, the 
son of the celebrated Wilberforce, and now Bishop 
of Oxford, to attend the too pompous cathedral- 
service in that magnificent abbey, and to sit down 
at his family table, which has lost its loveliest 
ornament, I proceeded thither at the usual hour. 
Here I — a Presbyterian minister — was conducted 
by one of the officials to the canons' stalls ; and I 
could not show greater bigotry by refusing, than 
they had done by leading me thither. After the 
sermon, and before his dinner, the dean took me 
round the vast pile, and pointed out to me the 
most remarkable objects it contains. I noticed 
especially the Halls of Convocation, in which the 
Anglican clergy assemble to no purpose ; and the 
tomb of the great Wilberforce, one of the most 
interesting monuments in the abbey, and which 
had a more particular attraction in my eyes ; and 
that statue, so characteristic and so animated, 
with the design of which all of us are familiar. 
There was indeed something striking in the son 
being stationed there, the guardian, as it were, of 
his father's tomb. But almost at the same time, 
as I was walking with the dean through the long- 
drawn aisles and beneath the fretted roofs of 
Westminster, the English Presbyterians invited me 
to a hall in the city — to one of those monster 



ENGLAND. 123 

breakfasts, where tea and coffee speedily make way 
for animated speeches, cordially responded to by the 
acclamations and the applause of the guests, until 
the hour of business, eleven or twelve o'clock, 
obliges them to disperse. 

I was at the Hanover Square Eooms, at the 
meeting of the Foreign Aid Society, founded, for 
the most part, by the activity of our friend Mr. 

E. B , and consisting entirely of members of 

the national church, and which has already done 
so much good on the Continent. There I spoke 
before a numerous and select assembly, composed 
chiefly of the English aristocracy ; and I also went 
to Finsbury Chapel, the largest dissenting meeting- 
house in London, then filled with an immense crowd, 
where I stood upon an elevated platform, among 
the most eminent of the English Nonconformists. 
My hand clasped their hands, my prayers mingled 
with theirs, and on that very day was founded a 
new Auxiliary Nonconformist Society for the 
Continent of Europe. 

Christian union, as I have already said, was, 
one of the chief subjects of my speeches during 
my journey through England and Scotland ; but I 
thank God that I was enabled to do more than 
speak about it. I was able to practise it. It is a 
cause which continues to engage all my sympathy; 
and may it please God to remove the many ob- 
stacles which it meets with, and which it has still 
to encounter, from churchmen too bigoted, na- 
tionalists too timid, and dissenters too ardent ! I 



124 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

will add, may God also preserve it from ideas too 
exclusive on the part of its own friends ! 

There are indeed manifestations most opposed to 
this union. But these manifestations (Puseyism for 
instance, which is in our time the most prominent 
event in the existence of the Anglican church.) are, 
as I think, but phases of this great work of union, 
— phases natural and even necessary. 

When after a period of spiritual death (as was the 
case in England during the earlier part of the 
eighteenth century), the Christian life begins to re- 
vive, all vital Christians feel themselves drawn to- 
gether ; whatever be the different denominations 
to which they belong, they feel themselves united. 
This is what happened in England at the period of 
the founding of the London Missionary Society, 
and during the following years. It is well known 
that this society proposed to give admission to 
members of all religious communions. 

But a period of separation succeeded to this time 
of union. Each Christian gradually became more 
attached to the particular church form to which he 
belonged. The Nationalist became more national, 
the Dissenter more dissenting, the Episcopalian 
more episcopal, the Presbyterian more presby- 
terian, the Wesleyan more Wesleyan, the Con- 
gregation alist more congregational, the Baptist 
more Baptist, the Calvinist more Calvinistic, the 
Arminian more Arminian. It would be unjust to 
attribute this narrow-mindedness, this sectarian 
movement, to any one church : ifc is to be found in 



ENGLAND. 125 

every denomination, among dissenters as well as 
among churchmen. At first it was the Word 
and the Spirit of God alone which acted together 
on every heart, [and this action was every where 
alike. Now, the history of each church, her tra- 
ditions, her antecedents, her special doctrines are at 
work ; but as this operation is infinitely diversified, 
it divides instead of uniting. 

There is in this latter action something na- 
tural, something even allowable, if kept within 
certain bounds ; but it is easily carried to an ex- 
treme, and this is what has everywhere happened. 

The Episcopalians, for instance, after having felt 
the infinite value of Christian truth which belongs 
to all evangelical communions, may without im- 
propriety attach a certain value to their own special 
form, their episcopacy. This is done by the evange- 
lical Episcopalians, and no pious and wise Presbyte- 
rian or Conoregationalist can blame them for it. 

But many have not contented themselves with 
this. They have abandoned Christian liberty to 
rush into the servile ways of a narrow ecclesiastical 
system. From certain principles, which in their eyes 
are absolutely true, they have drawn most mer- 
ciless deductions. Misapprehending the nature of 
the true church, which is " the general assembly 
" of the first-born, which are written in heaven" 
(Heb. xii. 23.), the internal, spiritual, and invisi- 
ble church, they have proceeded to set up in her 
stead a certain external organisation, a certain 
human institution ; and all that is to be found 



126 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

out of this organisation, out of this succession and 
episcopalianism, has been rejected as not belonging 
to the church. From this it has followed, that in 
the eyes of these ultra-orthodox divines, Presby- 
terian ministers are no ministers at all, and that 
the Lord's Supper celebrated by Congregation alists 
is in like manner no Sacrament. I am aware 
that the church is visible as well as invisible ; but I 
also know that almost all the errors of Rome have 
proceeded from her ascribing to the visible church 
what belongs to the spiritual church alone. Let 
us beware of imitating her example. 

These are the extremes of the re-action we are 
now witnessing. It must, and will pass away. 
The system is too void of truth to have any 
vitality, in the midst of the Gospel light. In the 
first period we pointed out (that of the revival), 
differences had perhaps been too much forgotten. 
At the present time, unity is too much overlooked. 
We now see a third period commencing, in which 
it is to be hoped due importance will be given both 
to essential and to secondary objects. 

Notwithstanding these weaknesses, however, I 
have a liking for the Church of England ; and I 
must say so, even if I should somewhat displease 
my Presbyterian and my Independent friends. 
There is one circumstance of my life which may 
serve to explain this. Fifteen or sixteen years 
ago, before a free chapel founded by the Evan- 
gelical Society was erected in Geneva, I could not 
go to hear, in the Genevese places of worship, 



ENGLAND. 127 

sermons of mere morality or of Unitarian doctrine ; 
and it was painful to me to communicate in them, 
after discourses in which the works of men were 
set up, instead of the blood of Jesus Christ. At 
that time, the English church, which had succes- 
sively as ministers two excellent men, Mr. Burgess 
and Mr. Hartley, was as a place of refuge for me. 
I there spent many precious hours, and was pri- 
vileged to join in the celebration of the Lord's 
Supper. Those very parts of the Liturgy which 
shock some persons, were those which delighted 
me the most. When I heard the Nicene, or the 
Athanasian Creeds, profess so explicitly the holy 
and glorious doctrines of the Trinity, so obstinately 
denied in Geneva, I experienced a feeling of joy 
and adoration. I must here pay my tribute of 
gratitude to this church. She has done me good. 

I like to proclaim, with the Anglican Church, 
faith in Christ, very God and very Man ; the cor- 
ruption of our nature by original sin; justification 
by faith alone ; and regeneration or the new birth, 
of which baptism is the sign ; and when our Ge- 
nevese school of theology desired to confess her 
faith, she borrowed, as you know, the seventeenth 
Article of the Church of England, to affirm the 
doctrine of Election. 

There is much vitality in the Evangelical Episco- 
pal party in England. There are, both in the 
ministry and in the congregations, many men who 
pray, many men who believe, and who are ready 
to do all things, to be faithful to Jesus Christ. 



128 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

The other two parties, — that of Canterbury, whose 
essential dogma is Episcopal succession, and that 
of Oxford, which leans towards the Papacy, 
— are, in the presence of the Evangelical party, 
but as phantoms before living men. They may 
frighten, but they cannot conquer it. Several 
circumstances, no doubt, concur in weakening the 
Evangelical Episcopalian body in England. Some 
of its most distinguished adherents have latterly 
too much lost sight of what is truly essential — the 
Word of God — to attach themselves to the little 
superstitions of the hierarchical parties. But this 
evil will pass away. These men are, above all, 
Christian men. They wil remember this in the 
day of battle, and will openly range themselves 
under the banner of Jesus Christ. 

What is most wanting to the Evangelical party 
is the consciousness of its own strength. It is 
much stronger than it thinks itself. Perhaps no- 
where in Christendom is there a greater love for 
the Word of God, and, consequently, more pledges 
of a certain victory. 



VIL 



THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 

After having gone through the different mani- 
festations of English life, rising step by step, shall 



ENGLAND. 129 

I finish with the church, and thus end where I 
began ? It is an entire world, from which I shrink. 
I have no time to enter upon it, and, besides, it is 
well known to you. Yet the church is essential to the 
existence of England, and with it I must conclude. 

Looking through the various parts of the con- 
stitution of the Church of England, I find certain 
institutions which, according to my convictions, 
are not what they ought to be in a church, and 
these I consider it my duty to point out. If there 
is a process termed development, to carry us away 
from evangelical simplicity, ought there not to be 
another, called reformation, to bring us back to it ? 

Reformation should begin with the institutions 
destined to train up the ministers of the church. 
The Church of England is essentially an aristo- 
cratic church. The members of the English 
clergy are taken from all ranks of society, and the 
sons of British peers sit sometimes as ministers 
beside the sons of artisans. In this no doubt 
there are advantages ; but there are also incon- 
veniences. The worldliness of the clergy has loDg 
been a general complaint in England. The love of 
liturgical and architectural forms in the present 
day is another. Puseyism, to corrupt the church, 
has begun with the universities : in them it has 
sought to establish its power. " The children of this 
" world are in their generation wiser than the chil- 
" dren of light." The Evangelical party must endea- 
vour to diffuse, both in Oxford and in Cambridge, 
more of true light, true science, and true piety. 

K 



130 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

I have visited Cambridge. I have seen her 
students, arrayed in the academical gown and 
cap, meet together morning and evening for their 
liturgical worship in their magnificent chapels. I 
remember my stay in that university eight or nine 
years ago ; the services, the lectures, my repast 
in the immense hall of Trinity College, and the 
chamber of the great Isaac Newton, in which 
the dean had the kindness to lodge me. I found 
among the members of the university a vital piety, 
and I am convinced that any efforts they may 
make to revive these nurseries of the church will 
certainly not be useless. 

I am aware that the Evangelical party has been 
reproached with being too narrow-minded, and not 
sufficiently learned. Dr. Arnold has given utter- 
ance to these accusations, and they may have some 
foundation. I do not think that the Evangelical 
party should, or even could, be reinstated purely 
and simply, such as it was in the time of Cecil and 
of Milner. This would be a loss of labour. A 
new development is necessary. If evangelical 
England is to be rebuilt, she must be set up anew 
upon the living rock of the Divine Word. She 
must cease to cultivate almost exclusively in her 
universities the classical languages and the mathe- 
matics; and in order to form theologians, some 
attention must be paid to theological science. Eng- 
land, in this respect, is far behind the churches 
and universities of the Continent. 

It is asserted that a Young German party is 



ENGLAND. 131 

forming in the English universities, especially at 
Oxford. I know not what will become of it, for 
there are many tendencies in Germany, as we have 
seen. There is among a few German ministers an 
ecclesiastical tendency, somewhat resembling that 
of Dr. Pusey. There is a rationalist, philosophical, 
and pantheistical tendency, which aims at nothing 
else but the destruction of the faith. But there is 
also another tendency, exegetic, biblical, and his- 
torical, whose object it is to temper the church 
anew in the living springs of truth. If it is Pan- 
theism that England is about to import from Ger- 
many, we have seen what eccentricities and errors 
may be expected from it. But if she goes to the 
school of Neander, of Nitzsch, of Hengstenberg, 
and of Tholuck, to train herself to the study of the 
Bible, of Christian history and divinity, she may 
derive much benefit. It is evident that if England 
receives from Germany any tendency whatever, that 
tendency will be modified. English individuality is 
too strongly marked not to impress on it a peculiar 
stamp. The rationalist elements, that may be met 
with, will be rejected. These biblical, historical, 
and theological studies, will enlarge the theology of 
England, and cause her to produce other works 
besides Apocalyptical commentaries. 

Can nothing be done to promote this ? When 
the Christians of Bale beheld their university 
almost invaded by Rationalism, they united to 
found a theological chair, which a biblical doctor 
was called to fill. And when, at Geneva, we saw 

K 2 



132 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

the old school absorbed by Unitarianism, we estab- 
lished our new evangelical and free school. Will 
England — so energetic, so powerful, so wealthy, 
and so faithful — do nothing ? 

Theological science plays too prominent a part in 
Germany ; in England it is not held in sufficient im- 
portance. If in Germany there is a science and no 
church, may it not be said that in England there 
is a church and no science ? The great aim of the 
church is not science, but the salvation of souls, 
and thence the glory of God. We would rather 
have a church without science, than science with- 
out a church. Nay, more ; we acknowledge that 
England is far from being without the theological 
element. Nevertheless, the philological, mathe- 
matical, physical, and economical sciences occupy 
the mind more than theology. If we compare 
England with her good old times, with the church 
of the Eeformation, or with that of the early ages, 
she appears far behind. Theology is a fine career 
opened to the lofty intellect of Britain. 

Not only at the basis, — in the universities, is a 
reform needed, but also at the summit, in church 
government. 

I might here instance one of the first elements 
of this government — the elections. The church 
members in England have no share in the choice of 
their ministers ; and what takes place in the elec- 
tions of the bishops is still more extraordinary. 
When a vacant see is to be filled up, the chapter 
receives from the crown a conge d'elire; but this 



ENGLAND. 133 

writ is accompanied by another (a letter-missive), 
in which the crown designates the person whom 
the chapter is to appoint. If after twelve days 
the election does not take place, the king nominates 
the bishop by letters patent, and the chapter, if it 
opposes this, exposes itself to the penalties of prae- 
munire, which renders the members liable to 
imprisonment " during the king's pleasure." At 
the same time the king takes possession of the 
revenues. 

But it is, in particular, of the supreme govern- 
ment of the church that I would speak. In this 
the rights of the church are still more completely 
sacrificed. 

The Church of England is composed of two 
archiepiscopal provinces — Canterbury and York. 
Each of these has from very early times, probably 
since the reign of Edward I., held convocations, or 
ecclesiastical synods ; which being called to grant 
taxes to the crown, levied upon church property, 
always met at the same time with the parlia- 
ment. 

The convocation of Canterbury, which is held at 
Westminster, is composed of two houses — the 
bishops' and the lower house, in which are twenty- 
two deans, fifty-three archdeacons, twenty-four 
deputies from the chapters, and forty-four of the 
lower clergy ; but no laymen. To these convoca- 
tions once belonged, saving the king's prerogative, 
the government of the church. But in 1717, at 
the time of the Jacobite troubles, the debates having 

K 8 



134 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

displeased government, the convocation was dis- 
solved; and now it no longer exists. It is true, 
that whenever a new parliament meets, the elections 
again take place ; the convocation assembles at 
Westminster ; a Latin sermon is preached ; after 
which the convocation recognises what the last 
parliament has enacted concerning ecclesiastical 
affairs, and draws up an address to the king or 
the queen; after this it adjourns sine die. Thus 
the Anglican Church meets to take off its hat and 
make a low bow to those who have taken away all 
its power, — and then the mutes disperse. It is 
the shadow of a body, which having the shadow of 
a jurisdiction, holds the shadow of an assembly ; 
and then all these shadows dissolve and vanish 
under the antique arches, and among the pillars, 
statues, urns, and tombs of the Gothic abbey. 

The crown might convoke the synods; but it 
never calls them together, and thus, by maintaining 
the status quo, it seems, in my opinion, to show that 
this right ought not to belong to it. A right which 
is never made use of is an absurdity. 

Can such a church government subsist ? 

I have often met with two very different opinions 
with regard to the Church of England — that which 
would preserve every thing in it, and that which 
would entirely abolish it. Neither of these opinions 
is mine. This church, it must be owned, is dear to 
the people of England ; and it has never ceased to 
bear valuable fruits to Christianity in general. 
But I do not think that in the present age the 



ENGLAND. 135 

Church of England can preserve the institutions 
which she owes to the middle ages ; and I am of 
opinion that the changes, more or less violent, which 
the state introduced into it during the eighteenth 
century, ought to be revised and corrected under a 
more Christian influence. 

I believe in the preservation of the Church of 
England ; but I also believe in her transformation. 
The state has hitherto gagged and stifled her. I 
think that the Christian element within her ought 
to disengage and develop itself, and create a new 
independence and a new life. Of all Evangelical 
churches, that of England is the least ripe for 
independence. The Reformation in the sixteenth 
century took deep root among the people ; a bib- 
lical Christianity was then ardently sought after; 
but the change of the ecclesiastical constitution 
was for the most part accomplished by the govern- 
ment, and consisted at first of little more than the 
substitution of the king for the pope as the head of 
the church. The English, therefore, stand upon a 
very different historical ground to that of other 
nations ; and this we must consider in order to do 
them justice. 

But the force of times and circumstances is 
bringing about a revolution which England little 
thought of. It is evident that since the Emancipa- 
tion and other acts have given Roman Catholics and 
Dissenters seats in parliament, it is an unreason- 
able and humiliating thing for the church that 
parliament should rule over her. Only think of the 

K 4 



136 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

tail of O'Connell, of Young Ireland — those head- 
strong Papists, being placed by law among the heads 
of the Protestant Church of England. It is one of 
those monstrosities which can only last a few years. 
The principles of eternal justice will soon set it right. 
I stated my views on this subject in 1845, before 
leaving England, in a letter addressed to one of its 
most venerable leaders, the Bishop of Chester; 
which, though published in the English papers, 
was but little responded to.* The Anglican Church 
was formerly governed, as we have seen, by a body 
purely clerical — the convocation of the bishops 
and other members of the clergy. All were 
sensible of the immense abuses arising from this 
state of things, and, at the beginning of the 
last century, it received a government essentially 
lay — the parliament. Every one feels, at pre- 
sent, that this state of things, also, cannot exist. 
There evidently must be a third. The Church of 
England must have a government independent of 
the parliament — a government in which, doubt- 
less, the bishops will sit ; but in which will appear 
also the ordinary clergy, and wherein deputies 
from the parishes will have an influential voice. 
Every true Protestant should reject the hierarchical 
course ; which may be very serviceable, perhaps, 
for ancient Egypt, or modern Rome, but is unsuited 
to Great Britain. The ideas which I put forth 

* I have been informed that an Evangelical Episcopal journal 
refused to insert articles in which this letter was discussed, and 
which were sent by one of its usual contributors. 



ENGLAND. 137 

in my letter to the Bishop of Chester, may meet 
with contradiction, but they will also, I am certain, 
meet with commendation. 

One of the men who are called upon to exercise 
great influence in the Episcopal Church of England 
made this observation to me, which I well remem- 
ber, — "To wish in our days for a church govern- 
" ment without the intervention of the members 
" of the church, is to wish for a church without 
" influence and without greatness." These are the 
words of a dignitary of the church. 

The want of ecclesiastical institutions and repre- 
sentation in England is, I am convinced, one of the 
most active causes of Puseyism. Both the ministers 
and the members of a church require occupation ; 
and when there are no public institutions calling 
upon them to discuss ecclesiastical interests, and 
to realise salutary reforms, then they rush into 
something else. In Germany, they have taken to 
science and rationalism ; in England, they have 
turned to ecclesiasticism and popery. 

The young men leave the universities. There 
they have gone through their studies, — philo- 
logical, mathematical, physical, architectural, if 
not theological ; but there, at least, they found 
movement and life. The more pious, no doubt, 
devote themselves to the care of their flocks; 
but even they have need of some other aliment : 
their intellect has wants ; their ecclesiastical 
capacity demands to be satisfied ; they desire 
to escape from isolation. The greater the stores 



138 TEAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

of their minds, the greater will be their wants. 
They meet with ideas of tradition, of succession, 
of sacramental influence, of sacerdotal character, 
— all the tenets of false Catholicism. These 
proffered aliments the young men joyfully receive 
and devour ; and if no remedy be found, they 
will fall, more and more, into that way of super- 
stition. 

This must not be overlooked. Doubtless, the first 
means of remedying the evil is what I have pointed 
out — namely, pure Christian doctrine. However, 
since Puseyism is the result of certain ecclesiastical 
wants, some other means must be sought to satisfy 
them. Channels should be formed in which the life 
of the church may circulate. We have had enough 
of " Tracts for the Times," of Puseyite romances, 
disfigured histories, and architecture of the middle 
ages. Something else is needed for the church: 
she needs action — action, that great virtue of 
England. 

Would it be erroneous to affirm, that the eccle- 
siastical forms of a Protestant people ought to be 
in correspondence with their political forms ? Let 
us be rightly understood. We by no means say, 
that because one form is in the state, it ought also 
to be in the church ; this would be Erastianism, and 
we reject it. But we ask, if it would be possible for 
a nation which has felt a certain Christian influence 
in her political developments, to reject that in- 
fluence in her ecclesiastical developments ? We find 
the principle of the deliberative assemblies of Chris- 



ENGLAND. 139 

tendom in the 15th chapter of the Acts of the 
Apostles, the result of whose deliberation was a 
letter written from " The apostles, and elders, and 
" brethren, to the brethren which are of the Gen- 
" tiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia." Hence 
have proceeded, doubtless decreasing and degene- 
rating, the synods and councils of Christendom ; 
and these institutions have powerfully concurred in 
producing the political assemblies which are becom- 
ing more and more prevalent among all Christian 
nations. England is the nurse, the terra alma of 
these great debates. From her they are trans- 
planted into all other countries. Now, while this 
form holds so important a part in the state, is it 
possible it should hold none in the church ? 

There is, in the spirit of a nation, a complete 
unity. If the mind, in a certain sphere, needs to 
exhibit itself in certain forms, would it not, in 
another sphere, require some analogous forms ? 
What! a people will have publicity in worldly 
things, and yet reject it in the things of the 
church ! They demand to be enlightened by de- 
bates in matters of taxes, of gold and silver ; and 
they care not for light upon questions concern- 
ing imperishable riches more precious than gold ! 
The ecclesiastical institutions of the first century 
have helped to give political institutions to modern 
nations. Will these nations reject the same in- 
stitutions in the field of the church, which is, 
however, the field peculiar to them, and the soil in 
which they primitively flourished ? 



140 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

How can any one in England deny the necessity of 
an ecclesiastical representation, in which the mem- 
bers of the church, and not the ministers alone, 
may be heard? All the societies formed for 
so many different objects, all these meetings, all 
these deliberations — are they not proofs of a 
want which is felt more and more in the present 
day? 

It has been remarked, that there is in England 
much ecclesiastical isolation ; a minister is fre- 
quently left almost alone. This, in some cases, 
will not prevent him from acting with fidelity and 
activity ; yet he will often fall into remissness, 
languor, supineness, and a death-like inertia. 

An ecclesiastical constitution, inspired by a 
spirit of wisdom and piety, would remedy this evil. 
Councils, synods, and connections of different mi- 
nisters with each other, would rouse those who 
are on the point of falling asleep, and be a means 
which the grace of God would employ to " lift up 
" the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees." 
(Heb. xii. 12.) They would prevent two evils 
—the want of superintendence, of order, and of 
discipline on the one hand ; and the arbitrary rule 
of the bishops on the other. 

But, above all, when once ecclesiastical rights 
are granted to the members of the English pa- 
rishes, as for so many centuries political rights 
have been granted to the commons, the Church 
of England will become what she ought to be, a 






ENGLAND. 141 

truly popular church. The state, by swallowing 
up the church, has become great and powerful; 
but what is the condition of the people ? Must 
not statesmen themselves acknowledge that they 
are poorer and more vicious. This would not 
have been the case, if the church, instead of 
appearing only by its dignitaries, on the bishops' 
bench and in the privy council, had also bestowed 
rights on her little ones, — on those members of 
the flock to whom the Word gives so high a place 
in the church of the living God. 

I will only add that episcopacy, far from being 
shaken by these important reforms, would, on the 
contrary, be strengthened by them. The executive 
power, the ecclesiastical administration, the super- 
intendence of the churches, would remain with the 
bishops, and the episcopal authority be placed on a 
more elevated pedestal. 

I conclude, by saying, that* a revolution in 
theological instruction and in ecclesiastical insti- 
tutions, are two grand desiderata in the Church of 
England. 

These two revolutions would be at once salutary 
and glorious. 

The Koman phalanx is advancing in every coun- 
try, and presents a fearful front. How is it to 
be vanquished? The Bible tells us, u They over- 
" came him by the blood of the Lamb, and by 
" the word of their testimony." The Word and the 
Blood, — behold the arms of the church ! 

But will the church combat alone ? Is not the 



142 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS, 

state called upon to withstand Rome? What, 
then, is the history of the middle ages, but the 
picture of a great combat between the State and 
the Papacy ? Can we do otherwise than withstand 
an enemy who never ceases from attacking us? 
and is not every one aware that the sometimes 
hidden, but always certain, aim of Rome, is to rule 
over the state ? It is painful and alarming indeed, 
to see the enlightened statesmen of England fancy- 
ing that Rome has laid aside her ambition and 
her designs, and is no longer to be distrusted. I do 
not think that infatuation so astonishing has ever 
before been observed in minds so eminent. Let 
the state arouse herself. Standing upon the con- 
sciousness of her rights, let her keep Rome in 
check ; nay, repel with firmness her hypocritical 
and criminal invasions. 

There are two powers that ought to attack 
Rome, as there are two which Rome would en- 
thral ? Let these two armies set forward, each 
on its own ground, to meet the enemy. Let the 
state proceed with her own warfare, and the church 
also with hers. And, while the state opposes to 
Rome her unquestionable rights, let the church 
oppose to her a living and individual Christianity. 

Our own little Geneva, and Great Britain, are 
both sustaining violent assaults ; but we shall not 
perish. No ! Evangelical Christianity will not 
perish either in Geneva, or in England, or in the 
whole world. I have, for my warrant, the memory 
of our fathers, the zeal of those who now profess 



ENGLAND. 143 

" the faith which was once delivered to the saints." 
Nay, more, I have for my warrant the ancient, 
immortal, and ever faithful companions of the Lord 
our God. He will neither forget the great nation 
of England, nor the small community of which we, 
the countrymen of Calvin, form a part ; countries 
so dissimilar in many respects, and which, never- 
theless, He has chosen — the one in her power, 
the other in her lowliness, — to make them beacons 
of the Gospel and bulwarks of Christianity. 



144 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 



CHAP. III. 



SCOTLAND. 



1. Germany, England, and Scotland. Crossing England by 
Railway. Arrival in Scotland. Chalmers. Edinburgh. 
The Old and the New Town. The Castle Hill. Holyrood.— 
2. Difference between the English and the Scotch. Scottish 
Character. A Proof of the Reformation. Importance of 
Doctrine. Spirit and Life. Character of Scottish Theology. 
Basis. Apex. — 3. Worship. A Sermon. Length. A Fare- 
well Sermon. Liberty. The Lord's Supper. Standing or 
Sitting ? Discipline : Essential or not ? Public Instruction. 
— 4. Disruption of 1843. State of the Established Church. 
Holyrood and the Lord High Commissioner. The General 
Assembly of the Establishment and the Platform. Was a 
Speech necessary ! Dinner at Holyrood. — 5. Impartiality. 
The Assembly Time. The 18th of May and Cannon Mills. 
Our Entrance. A Scottish Assembly. Speech of Chalmers. 
Geneva and Scotland. Popery and Erastianism. Bonfires of 
Straw. — 6. Speech of the Deputies : Dr. Gordon, Dr. Mac- 
farlane, Dr. Brown. Fatigue and Repose. 



I. 



EDINBURGH. 

I have spoken of England and of Germany. I 
might have gone more deeply into the church 
questions of these two countries, but one consider- 
ation has deterred me. Great things are in pre- 
paration both for England and for Germany; but 
the crisis has not yet arrived, and I am no prophet. 



SCOTLAND. 145 

It is not so with Scotland. There the crisis has not 
reached its full development, but the effort has 
been made. On this country, therefore, I shall 
especially dwell. 

England, Germany, and Scotland exhibit, with 
regard to the church, a different aspect. 

In Germany, the Vandal spirit of rationalism de- 
stroyed every thing ; the church went to ruin, and 
that noble country presented a vast chaos in which 
contrary forces were struggling together. But 
already the Spirit of God is moving on the face of 
the waters ; the divine word has been uttered, and 
the new creation is begun. 

In England, they had not fallen quite so low. 
Ancient and venerable forms had been maintained ; 
but, generally speaking, the true, the divine Spirit 
had forsaken those forms. In its place a human 
spirit, produced by these very forms, had taken 
possession of them ; and, alas ! still sits proudly in 
the antique porch of many a college and cathedral. 
But the true spirit, banished from these elevated 
stations, has found refuge in humble retreats, 
and is now about to come forth with power to 
attack the human and traditional one, and to drive 
it from its Gothic strong-holds, and set up in its 
stead that which is always ancient yet always 
new — the Eternal spirit. If ever it gains the 
mastery, may it so accomplish the primitive reform, 
that these high places can no longer serve as a 
retreat for the enemy ! 

Scotland is in a better situation. A victory has 

L 



146 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

been achieved, but there are still many triumphs to 
be won. Victory has to struggle against victory 
itself. There are all kinds of dangers for success : 
there are those of lassitude and slumber, those of 
pride and disdain ; there are those of idolatry, 
which makes an idol of all belonging to the con- 
queror ; and there are those of narrowness, which 
forsakes the mighty river of Christian life, to con- 
fine itself in paltry conduits. 

Having thus glanced at Germany and England, 
I hasten onward to Scotland. 

I traversed England, from London to Newcastle, 
in one short day, thanks to the railroads ! I often 
went forty-eight miles in one hour, three times the 
distance from Geneva to the other end of our lake. 
I flew like an arrow through the delightful and 
celebrated landscapes of Derbyshire, and waved my 
hand, as I passed by, to the majestic towers of the 
ancient Minster of York. The next day, for want 
of better accommodation, I took my seat in one of 
those heavy vehicles of the Middle Ages, called 
mails or stage-coaches, and proceeded slowly, by 
comparison, although at full gallop, from New.- 
castle to Edinburgh. After crossing the Border, 
the magnificent ruins of Jedburgh Abbey, one of 
the finest remains of Saxon architecture, soon at- 
tracted my notice. These ruins of olden time, which 
appeared before me the moment I entered Scotland, 
after having crossed the desert moors which divide 
it from England, made a deep impression upon 
me. I seemed to hear a voice from them saying 



SCOTLAND. 147 

to me : " Thou art setting thy foot upon an an- 
" cient land, and it is not only the present times 
" which thou must behold there, but those also 
" which are no more !" 

Yet I must not forget the present. After 
having passed within sight of Abbotsford, cele- 
brated as the residence of Walter Scott, we arrived 
in Edinburgh. It was the day on which the 
Queen's birth-day is kept ; there were great rejoic- 
ings in the streets, and fireworks were thrown 
against the coach. I had not yet alighted, when 
I perceived amidst the crowd a head already 
whitened by age, with a lively eye and benevolent 
smile. It was Chalmers, that man who for these 
thirty years has been all over Europe the represent- 
ative of Scotland ; he had had the kindness to 
come and meet me. The hearty welcome of this 
venerable Christian, with whom I was not before 
personally acquainted, and who adds to his great 
genius the simplicity of a child, affected me even 
to tears. Thenceforward I loved Chalmers as a 
brother, and reverenced him as a father. I was 
united to him, to his church, to his people, by a 
powerful bond of affection. A month afterwards, 
having gone to spend my last two days in Scotland 
with Chalmers, in a delightful village at Fairlie, 
on the sea shore, opposite the mountains of Arran, 
I repaired to Greenock, to meet the steamer which 
was to carry me to Liverpool ; ancf, notwithstand- 
ing the distance, notwithstanding his age, and a 
heavy rain, (a Greenock day, as they call it there,) 

L 2 



148 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Chalmers would see me to my cabin, and did not 
leave me till the signal was given for our depar- 
ture. Chalmers was the first and the last whom I 
saw in Scotland. If I recall this cordial welcome, 
it is not only for the sake of doing honour to 
this friend ; I merely point to the venerable Edin- 
burgh patriarch as the type of Scottish hospitality. 

Here am I, then, in Edinburgh, the most pic- 
turesque of all the towns which I have ever visit- 
ed. Its situation has been compared to that of 
Athens, but it is added that the modern Athens 
is far superior to the ancient. Edinburgh, built 
upon the two brows of a large terrace, presents the 
most wonderful perspective. If from that beauti- 
ful Prince's Street, which separates the Old Town 
from the New, you turn towards the south, you 
have before you the old Edinburgh, with its his- 
toric walls, its colleges, its hospitals, its ancient 
towers, and those houses that, from the side on 
which you now look, have as many as fourteen 
stories, while on the other they have but two or 
three ; you see those narrower streets, in which 
you must seek the memorials of the city, and 
in particular the residence of Knox, around which 
the Free Church has lately purchased a site, to 
raise to the Reformer of Scotland a monument 
worthy of him, two churches and a school. Geneva 
is not doing as much for Calvin ! 

Such is the view which from the New Town we 
have of the Old. But, if I change my position, 
and climb to the heights of the Old Town, and 



SCOTLAND. 149 

look back to the place I have just left, on the 
north side to the New Town, I then see a very differ- 
ent prospect : squares, gardens, magnificent streets, 
adorned as it were with palaces ; and, at the corner 
of two of them, the hospitable abode in which 

Archibald B received me like a brother ; that 

house, which, during the sitting of the Assembly, 
never ceased to be filled with friends, from break- 
fast time until after evening worship, between 
eleven and twelve ; the crowd renewed at every 
moment, so that it was rare to see the same face 
twice, and it might have been called a very 
caravanserai of Christian friends, where every one 
is free to enter. Farther on, I beheld the Frith of 
Forth ; the sea, with its islands, its rocks, its ves- 
sels traversing it in all directions ; towns, light- 
houses ; and all around me in the distance the 
shadows of the Ochills and the Pentlands, and the 
rugged summits of the Grampians. 

But what, even to a Swiss, is most striking in 
Edinburgh, and especially when walking in the 
cool groves of the valley which separates the 
Old Town from the New, is that mountain, which, 
in the very midst of the city, shoots up its im- 
mense and abrupt walls of rock, which an Irishman 
described as being more than perpendicular. You 
wander amid Scotch firs, (we call them here Ge- 
nevese pines ; Geneva and Scotland have both 
joined in giving their own name to their favourite 
tree,) you contemplate the base of the mountain, 
you climb from rock to rock, you hide yourself 

L 3 



150 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

under their shadow and dive into their recesses, 
you fancy yourself in one of the most picturesque 
and most distant solitudes of our Alps ; in some 
secluded glen of the Valais, of the Oberland, or 
of Glaris, beside the Glaciers: you look up, and 
palaces surround you ! 

But what are those ancient walls which I see 
perched upon the summit of these bold rocks ? 
What is that loud blast of the trumpet which re- 
echoes from the heights ? What mean the bands 
of armed Highlanders, who, clothed in their pic- 
turesque costume, ascend and descend the moun- 
tain ? These walls are the castrum puellarum, the 
camp of the maidens, where in ancient times the 
Pictish kings, as the tradition tells us, placed their 
daughters to be educated in these inaccessible 
heights, safe from the tumults and the wars of 
the plain ; it is the old Castle of Edinburgh, which 
has been as the kernel to the town, that has gra- 
dually germinated around it. More than once in 
critical circumstances for the country, during the 
thirteenth, fourteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth 
centuries, armies have spread their banners around 
this lofty fortress ; and now, all that remains of 
those historical times, are the royal jewels of Scot- 
land, — the crown, the sceptre and the sword, — 
which, having been found by accident, and in a 
dark room, are now exhibited at noon-day to 
visitors by the red glare of lamps. 

But how many more memorials are there in 
Edinburgh ! Coming down from the Castle, along 



SCOTLAND. 151 

the High Street and the Canongate, which join the 
two most remarkable edifices of the metropolis, 
Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, 1 find the. 
ancient cathedral of St. Giles, near whose Gothic 
walls lie the remains of Knox, and whose lofty aisles 
have witnessed so many celebrated events of Scot- 
tish history. Continuing my walk, I reach the 
palace of Holyrood, situated between the splendid 
Calton Hill, which commands the sea, and on which 
stand the monuments of Nelson, and of other 
famous men, and where a strong wind is always 
blowing ; and on the other side Arthur's Seat, 
that picturesque mountain which reminds us of 
our Saleve on a smaller scale. Here, then, is Holy- 
rood, that ancient abode of so much grandeur, 
of so much beauty, of so many painful and terrible 
remembrances. Here are the half destroyed walls 
of that chapel, whose graceful ruins are a sad but 
significant monument of the desire of the Stuarts 
to introduce Prelacy and Popery into Scotland, and 
of the fruitlessness with which efforts so uncon- 
genial must ever be attended. But the great 
name which seems to hover over Holyrood, is that 
of the unfortunate Mary Stuart. We see her bed, 
her dressing table, and her work. Every moment 
you meet with this name in Scotland. " Here," 
they say, pointing to some fine ruins, " here Mary 
" Stuart was born." " There, very near Edinburgh, 
" Mary often resided." They have given the name 
of Little France to the village in which the French 
guards were lodged. Nations keep the remem- 

L 4 



152 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

brance of those who do them evil, better than 
that of those who have done them good. Thus, 
near the Gulf of Baise, not far from Naples, you 
still find every where the memorials of Nero ; there 
are Nero's baths, Nero's grotto, Nero's palace ; 
and farther on, Nero, Tiberius, the Cape of Misene. 
The poets describe with exactness the places in 
which tyrants resided. 

Caesar Tiberius 
In Misenensem villam 
Quse monte summo posita Luculli manu, 
Prospectat Siculum ; et despicit Tuscum mare. 

Thus, Scotland every where recalls Mary Stuart. 
" But the memory of the just alone is blessed." I 
shall have another opportunity of speaking of the 
recollections which Mary Stuart has left in Holy- 
rood. I now leave Edinburgh, and turn to the 
Scottish people. 



II. 

SCOTTISH DOCTRINE. 

A distinguished theologian, Dr. Sack, has said, 
that the predominant principle in the English is 
the soul, \I^vj — the principle of life, of thought, 
of voluntary motion in man ; and in the Scotch the 
mind, 7rvsvfj.a — that spiritual being by which man 



SCOTLAND. 153 

enters into relation with God and the invisible 
world. The Englishman, according to him, would 
lean more towards reality, the Scotchman towards 
ideality. As this distinction might lead to a deeper 
study and discussion than we can now enter upon, I 
shall not dwell upon it. 

I found the Scotchman kind, cordial, hospitable, 
active, and generous. If I had accepted all the 
invitations which were given me in Scotland, to 
spend only a few days with each, I should certainly 
have been there until now. What excellent people ; 
what love, what Christian life, what zeal, what 
devotedness among all those kind friends by whom 
I was surrounded ! I only regretted that what 
might have filled up a year was crowded into a few 
days. I was more especially struck by the energy 
of this people, — their energy of feeling, of words, 
and of action. There is still something of the old 
Scots and Picts in these Christians of the nineteenth 
century. Christianity has sunk deeper into them 
than into any other nation ; but you see that the 
Christian sap has been transfused into them, not 
from the weakened off- shoots of the Eomans, but 
from a young, vigorous, and indigenous stock. 
This union of natural energy, with that energy 
which comes from above, can alone explain the 
Church of Scotland, and what she is now doing. 
The Scotchman has even the defects of his good 
qualities. If there are any who are suspicious, 
violent, intolerant, or bitter, they are not so by 
halves. This is to be found in the most legitimate 



154 TRAVELLING -RECOLLECTIONS. 

controversies ; as in the Apocryphal controversy, 
for instance, which, although founded on justice, 
was sometimes carried beyond all reasonable bounds. 
The same may perhaps be said of more recent dis- 
cussions. 

The religious feeling which I pointed out as an 
essential characteristic of the people of Great 
Britain, is still more decided in the north; and 
while the Englishman is sometimes inclined to 
asceticism and mysticism (the Puseyite movement 
is with some purely ascetic), the Scotchman has 
certain aspirations, certain poetical desires, as to 
religious and invisible things ; and every one is 
familiar with that species of visionary prophecy, 
called in Scotland second sight. 

Scotland appears to me to present the best proof 
of the Keformation. I do not mean that nothing 
is wanting in it. But, comparatively speaking, it is, 
of all Protestant nations, that in which the Gospel 
has worked the best, and in which its effects have 
been the most durable. This gives to Scotland a 
great importance in that Christian restoration 
which we should wish our age to witness. Though 
Scotland should not be for us the model country 
(it is in ages further back, in the primitive times of 
Christianity, that the model of the church is to be 
sought), it is perhaps destined at. the present period 
to be the vanguard of Christ's army. 

What, then, has secured to the Church of Scot- 
land this eminent rank? I hesitate not to reply, 
"Her attachment to sound doctrine." When we 



SCOTLAND. 155 

see how important the church question is in 
Scotland, and that for the sake of this question 
a large number of ministers have forsaken all, we 
may perhaps be disposed to think that the country 
takes no great interest in doctrine. Quite the 
reverse ! It is because doctrine is placed so high 
in Scotland, that the church meets with so much 
sympathy. Wherever doctrine is not cared for, 
the people care little for the church, and a miserable 
esprit de corps alone remains, which is the most 
opposed of any to a Christian spirit. The church 
itself is doctrine. The most characteristic distinc- 
tion between the Christian church and Paganism, 
Mahometanism and Deism, either pure or Socinian, 
is the Christian doctrine, as essentially different 
from the Pagan, Mahometan, Deistical, or Socinian 
doctrines. This also distinguishes the Komish from 
the Protestant church. Observe, when I speak of 
doctrine, I do not mean a cold, arid, lifeless ortho- 
doxy ; I mean " the doctrine which is according to 
" godliness," as the apostle says ; that doctrine 
which produces life, which leads to regeneration, 
to sanctification, to fellowship with God, and to 
good works. 

The beautiful Westminster Confession is still the 
exponent of the faith of the Church of Scotland. 
But doctrine, as it is to be found within the Church 
of Scotland,* is neither an abstract dogma nor an 
obsolete formula. It is spirit and life. These 
minds so quick and so penetrating ; these intellects 
so moulded by public life and civil liberty, to great 



156 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

movements and great manifestations ; these souls 
so fresh, so ardent, so energetic, cannot take 
delight in that phantom of orthodoxy which we 
have seen on the Continent subsisting long after 
the life of faith had disappeared. The critical, 
exegetical, patristic, or historical element, which 
characterises Germany, does not, it is true, exist to 
the same degree in Scotland ; yet we must not 
therefore expect to find an external and superficial 
theology. There is more real theology, that is to 
say, knowledge of God, in Scotland, than in Ger- 
many. You will find the fundamental basis of 
faith laid down with great wisdom and great 
energy ; you will find an incomparable firmness 
in the development of the whole Christian system, 
a clear and penetrating spirit, which distinguishes, 
explains, and characterises every dogma and every 
question with remarkable distinctness ; and, over 
all, you will find a steadiness and assurance which 
does one good, after being accustomed to see so 
many theologians in Germany and elsewhere, hesi- 
tating and contradicting themselves, being like 
" children tossed to and fro, and carried about by 
" every wind of doctrine." 

The Scottish theologian places himself at once in 
the centre of the Christian doctrine ; it is on faith 
in the reconciliation by the expiatory sacrifice of 
Christ that he takes his stand. This grand dogma, 
which tells us at once of the sin of man and the grace 
of God ; this fundamental doctrine, which contains, 
on the one hand, the consciousness of our guilt, 



SCOTLAND. 157 

and, on the other, the assurance of an irrevocable 
counsel of mercy and salvation, is the vivifying 
centre of Scotch theology. Faith in the Lamb of 
God, who has borne the sins of the world ; this is 
the milk with which the Scottish child is fed in the 
schools of the towns, the mountains, and the plains ; 
and the strong meat, whose nourishing juices are 
dispensed by the theologians of Edinburgh or 
Glasgow to the future ministers of the church. 

But if Christ, once dead, is the groundwork of 
the edifice, Christ now living is its corner-stone. 
If there are some countries in Christendom which 
worship Christ as much in his death and as a victim 
(which there certainly are), I think that there are 
none which honour Christ in his imperishable life 
as King so much as the Church of Scotland. Christ 
is to the Scotch the High Priest, ever living, inces- 
santly interceding for His people. He is with them 
the Prince who truly reigns over the church ; and 
they are quite in earnest in taking Him for their 
King. Nay, more, Christ is also for the Scotch, 
He who will " come quickly." Without, perhaps, 
entering so much as the English into millenial 
questions and Apocalyptical calculations (which I 
do not mean to despise, but which, as has been 
observed, may sometimes be carried to excess),- the 
Scottish Christians, more perhaps than any other 
people, look forward with hope and joy to the 
approaching coming of the Saviour. 



158 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 



III. 



WORSHIP. 

Let us take a nearer view of the religion of this 
people. Let us enter one of the temples wherein 
a Christian congregation is worshipping the Lord, 
and bow down with them before the throne of 
grace. 

If you happen to be within a Scottish church, 
the worship edifies, and even awes you, by its great 
simplicity, by the devout attention of the flock, and 
by the singing of psalms carefully performed by the 
faithful, but without the aid of an organ. This in- 
strument is almost a Komish superstition in the eyes 
of the Scotch. The preacher commences his dis- 
course, and what strikes you is, not the oratorical 
arrangement or the brilliant imagery — the Scottish 
minister, on the contrary, aims at great plainness — 
but what is presented to you is a series of thoughts 
well conceived and well ordered. The only observa- 
tion I have to make is, that occasionally the ramifi- 
cations of these thoughts are perhaps carried to an 
extreme. I heard a Scotch sermon which was like a 
tree, and the comparison is certainly not unfavour- 
able ; the doctrine was exhibited in full detail ; 
there was not only the stem, and the limbs, and 
the branches, but even the smallest bough, the 
slightest stalk, the tiniest leaf. The idea, the doc- 



SCOTLAND. 159 

trine, was divided and subdivided almost to extinc- 
tion. I hasten to say that it was not during my last 
journey, but some eight or nine years ago, that I 
heard a sermon of this kind on justification by 
faith, preached by a minister of the Presbyterian 
Church in London, who, with a voice like thunder, 
presented the most minute and orthodox analysis, 
and in which truly nothing was wanting, nothing, 
excepting the essential — the life. I would have 
given any thing to have had fewer distinctions, 
orthodox as they were, and in their stead one 
single sigh « — one burst of the soul. May God 
preserve our churches from a new scholasticism, 
more pure, indeed, than the former, but which, 
nevertheless, would be their death ! 

In Scotland the discourses, and especially the 
prayers, are rather long ; the latter, in my opinion, 
too much so. A Christian alone in his closet may 
pray for a quarter, a half, a whole hour, or more ; but 
when a large assembly has been praying for ten or 
fifteen minutes, are not most of the hearers unable 
to follow the prayer, except on extraordinary oc- 
casions, and sadly liable to wandering thoughts ? 
On the Continent, at least, it would be thus. Now, 
a minister must be all things to all men, and ac- 
commodate himself to the weaknesses of a large 
auditory. 

All things considered, better preachers are to be 
found in Scotland than in any other country of 
Christendom. We generally see, mingled in due pro- 
portion, in the discourses of the Scottish preachers, 



160 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

those two elements which constitute all Christian 
eloquence — the objective truth on the one hand, 
and the individuality of the preacher on the other. 
The development of the latter principle, the sub- 
jective element, is very prominent among some of 
the leading men in Scotland ; and this it is which 
constitutes their eloquence, but not to the injury 
of the other. Perhaps, on the contrary, among 
the mass of the preachers, the former element is 
too predominant. 

I had the high satisfaction during my stay in 
Scotland of hearing Dr. Chalmers. You know that 
he was a minister of Glasgow, first in the Tron 
Church, and afterwards in St. John's. Dr. Brown, 
his friend, and successor in the latter church, having 
left the Establishment in 1843, his people built 
him a Free church, in which they studiously en- 
deavoured to give the architecture a certain style 
of elegance, in order, no doubt, to show what can 
be done in our own day by the free contributions 
of Christians. The steeple, tower, and facade, of this 
building make it one of the finest in Scotland. I 
will not here repeat passages of the sermon ; I 
have already spoken of Chalmers ; and besides, 
some of his discourses, translated into French by 
Professor Diodati, one of the best preachers of 
Geneva, are known to every body. But what I 
would say is, that it was the last time that Chal- 
mers preached in Glasgow, where he had first 
begun to be known to the Christian world. You 
can imagine the desire felt in that city to hear 



SCOTLAND. 1 6 L 

him ; the crowds that gathered from all quarters ; 
but you can have no idea of the order and the de- 
votion of the Assembly. The collection, on leaving 
the church, amounted to 40,000 francs (1600/.), 
for the morning service only ; there was another in 
the afternoon, and one in the evening. These 
40,000 francs, thrown into the plate at the church 
door by Christians who, to build this church, had 
already taxed themselves extraordinarily in consi- 
derable sums, is a characteristic feature of the Free 
Church of Scotland. On leaving the church, Chal- 
mers took mv arm, and we retired together. A 
great crowd gathered in the wide streets of Glas- 
gow, to behold the venerable and humble doctor, 
the pride of Scotland, and we could with difficulty 
make our way along. 

There is in the Scottish worship an element of 
liberty. It is the expression of the free-will and 
the Christian piety of the congregation — there is no 
liturgy. On certain occasions they even preach 
in the streets, in the highways, in the open air, and 
always with admirable order, and without those 
railleries and insults which would not be wanting in 
many countries of the Continent. One Sunday, while 
I was in Edinburgh, there was a service in Gaelic 
(the language of the Highlands), under a tent ; I 
went near, but without understanding one word of 
it. These Highlanders, with their short kilts, bare 
legs, plaids thrown over their shoulders, and raised 
heads, covered with their characteristic bonnet, 
presented a most picturesque spectacle. 

M 



162 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

After speaking of sermons, shall I take yon to 
the celebration of the Lord's Snpper in Scotland ? 
The Scotch hold that we cannot change the least 
thing in the sacraments which Christ has insti- 
tuted, without offending against His kingship. 
They think that the Supper celebrated by the 
Lord with his disciples, was a true repast, and 
ought now to be remembered by us in the posi- 
tion natural to a meal, that is, neither kneeling 
nor standing, but sitting. I had a very fraternal 
discussion on this subject with a Scotch minister. 
I will not dispute the principle on which they 
act — I admit it — I shall only observe that in 
the Supper there can be no question of servile 
imitation ; if it were so, the Scotch themselves 
should be rebuked, for the disciples were not sit- 
ting, they were, according to the Eastern custom, 
reclining on small couches. I will add that there 
are two positions in which we may place ourselves 
when about to eat. When hurried, on a journey, 
or even in haste at home, we eat standing. Thus 
was the sacrament of the Paschal Lamb originally 
instituted. " Thus shall ye eat it," said the Lord 
to Moses, "with your loins girded, your shoes on 
" your feet, and your staff in your hand ; and ye 
" shall eat it in haste : it is the Lord's Passover." 
This standing posture to eat the Passover, which 
is the one we still adopt, well represents our deli- 
verance from the bondage of sin, as well as the 
necessity of marching onward from that moment 
to meet Him whose death we are to " show forth 



SCOTLAND. 163 

" until He come." If, when standing at the Supper, 
we think of the things signified thereby, it would 
be, I am sure, a source of much edification. 

The Lord's Supper in Scotland, which is cele- 
brated in the most complete silence, is very solemn, 
and recalls in a satisfactory manner its first institu- 
tion. It is kept only twice a year, and the Church 
of Scotland is thus distinguished from the Lutheran 
and Anglican churches, in which it is repeated every 
week, or at least every month, Each of these customs 
has its advantages. Frequent communion, more in 
accordance with the habit of the primitive Chris- 
tians, seems more appropriate to select and truly 
Christian flocks ; while the contrary system, which 
makes the days of its celebration periods of general 
penitence and solemnities of Christian brotherhood, 
is more appropriate to multitudinous churches. 

It is only, however, to a certain extent that the 
Church of Scotland deserves this latter name ; ec- 
clesiastical discipline is enforced in the established, 
as well as in the free and the dissenting churches. 
This ecclesiastical discipline may be exaggerated ; 
and it has sometimes been harsh, domineering, 
and superstitious. But there is a right discipline ; 
the care taken of the salvation, of the sanctification, 
of the Christian life of every one by the directors 
of a church, whether ministers or elders ; the watch- 
ful love which they bear to the eternal life of the 
church members, — a serious love, which would 
prevent them from eating and drinking judgment 
to themselves, by partaking unworthily of the 

M 2 



164 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

bread and the cup of the Lord." On the Conti- 
nent the Protestant churches in general profess 
to believe, that only two things are essential to a 
church : Firstly, the profession of true doctrine ; 
and, secondly, the administration of the sacraments 
conformably to Christ's institution. Wherever 
these things are not to be found, there may be 
a religious establishment maintained by the civil 
power, but there is no true church of the Lord. 
It is allowed, however, on the Continent, that a 
church which has a discipline, is a better, a more 
perfect, a normal church. It is not so with the 
Church of Scotland. With her, discipline is a qua- 
lification which the church cannot be without. 
The first Confession of Faith of Scotland, speaking 
in the eighteenth chapter " Of the Notes by which 
" the True Kirk is discerned from the False," 
states, first, the two signs we have pointed out, and 
then adds, in the last place, " Ecclesiastical disci- 
" pline uprightly ministered, as God his word pre- 
" scribeth, whereby vice is repressed and virtue 
" nourished." * 

In Scotland, as formerly in Geneva, the church 
rebukes, and even, if necessary, excludes, from the 
Holy Supper, those who have fallen into any scan- 
dalous sin. The great solemnity of the Communion 
makes such an exclusion the more sensibly felt, and 
thus discipline keeps in the path of duty many per- 

* Postremo loco est disciplina ecclesiastica recte adminis- 
trata. (Conf. Scot, I. 18.) 



SCOTLAND. 165 

sons who might otherwise easily go astray. Often 
when a father conies to ask for baptism for his 
child, he is answered, " You are an unclean per- 
" son, or a drunkard; what assurance have we that 
u you will bring up your child in the fear of the 
" Lord?" The strictness of the Scotch in this re- 
spect is the more natural, as they have no god- 
fathers and godmothers to take care of the child, if 
the parents neglect it. They regard this institu- 
tion as opposed to the headship of Christ, who 
never commanded it ; and they place it in the 
same rank as the refusal of the cup in the Romish 
Church, or the invention of the five sacraments 
unrecognised by the Lord. This is, I think, going 
rather too far: it is natural that baptism should 
have witnesses, and with us the godfather and 
godmother are nothing more. 

As to the instruction of the people, it is much 
more generally diffused in Scotland than in Eng- 
land. The Bible and the Catechism are familiar 
to every Scottish child. Scotland, Holland, and 
our French Switzerland, which are the three 
countries in which the Reformation was the most 
complete and the most pure, are also of all the 
countries of Christendom, nay, even of the world, 
those over which intellectual culture is the most 
universally spread, I have entered a poor hut in 
the Highlands, built of a few rough stones, scarcely 
rising above the ground, and roofed with turf, and 
beside which one of our chalets would be almost 
a palace ; and I have found in it people of pleasing 

M 3 



166 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

manners and of a remarkable cultivation, which 
formed a striking contrast with their poverty. A 
pure and living Christian church is the greatest 
blessing that can be granted to a people, — it is 
the only instrument fitted to civilise nations. 



IV. 



THE CHURCH AND THE PALACE. 

The most striking thing in Scotland at the pre- 
sent time, is the division which took place in her 
national church in 1843. It is now divided into 
two parts: the one half remaining Established, 
that is, connected with, and more or less sub- 
ordinate to, the government ; the other, having 
become Free, resembling what has lately happened 
in the Canton de Vaud, These two parts of 
the National Church of Scotland have about an 
equal number of adherents. Though even the 
Established Church were the more numerous, (and 
I do not think it is,) the difference would be com- 
pensated by the zeal and fervour of the members 
of the Free Church. In such a case we weigh, we 
do not measure. 

At the time when I arrived in Edinburgh the 
two churches were drawn up in array. Their two 
General Assemblies (we should call them their two 



SCOTLAND. 167 

synods) were holding their sittings at the same 
time, and I saw both of them. 

I do not mean to speak here as the exclusive 
friend of one of these churches, and the enemy of 
the other. I do not conceal my sympathy with the 
principles and the works of the Free Church, but I 
wish to do justice to the Established Church. This 
church, transported to the Continent, would be, 
both as regards doctrine and constitution, in advance 
of many of our national churches ; more so, for 
instance, than a great part of the churches of Ger- 
many in their present state; than the reformed 
churches of France ; and, it is needless to add, more 
advanced than those of Geneva and Yaud. We 
continentals can have, therefore, no right to throw 
a stone at her. I respect many of the men who 
are in the Established Church of Scotland. I 
should like to see Scotland united ; and which of 
her sons does not share in such a wish? Far 
from delighting to set the two churches against 
each other, like two hostile camps, I would rather 
see them draw towards each other like two 
sisters, and combine into one church, independent 
of political power. This is the best wish, I am 
convinced, that can be formed for Scotland, — for 
her prosperity, her holiness, and her glory. 

The great distinction of the Established Church 
is the splendour that surrounds her. A state like 
that of Great Britain is no contemptible matter ; 
and there can be little doubt, that to be the church 
recognised by the state, and kept up by its favour 

M 4 



168 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

is. a kind of glory, by which many minds on the 
Continent would be swayed. To see in her tem- 
ples, when she visits Scotland, Queen Victoria, 
that sovereign of the Indies and of the seas ; to 
have on her side the greatest statesmen, such as 
Peel and Aberdeen, the two houses of parliament 
of the most powerful nation of the globe, and the 
most illustrious and the most learned lords — are 
honours by which, for my own part, I own myself 
but little impressed, but which must, nevertheless, 
be a great distinction in the eyes of many. 

Holy rood, the ancient palace of the Scottish 
kings, is seldom opened except during the General 
Assembly of the Established Church : but it is 
then filled with guards and officers ; while a royal 
Lord High Commissioner there represents the queen. 
The Marquis of Bute, a Scottish nobleman, re- 
spected by all parties, has for some years filled 
that important office. 

I saw both parties, and must now, as character- 
istic of Scotland at present, say something of them. 
I beg to be excused if I am personally mixed up 
with them. 

I begin with the Established Church, and equity 
requires me to say that I have rather beheld her in 
her relations with the state, than in herself : these 
relations are what especially distinguishes her, and 
must consequently most attract the attention of a 
foreigner. 

The Lord High Commissioner had the kindness 
to invite me, through the Moderator, Dr. Hill, to go 



SCOTLAND. 169 

and pay my respects to him. A stranger in tlie coun- 
try. I could only hasten to offer my homage to the 
queen's representative. A carriage of the court 
came to fetch us, and the Moderator and I arrived 
at the palace at his Grace's levee about ten o'clock. 
We crossed the courts, the halls and ante-chambers 
of that ancient edifice, and reached a spacious 
saloon, where stood the Lord High Commissioner, 
in full dress, surrounded by several noblemen, 
officers, and other persons, who were paying their 
respects to him. A personage, wearing a black, 
antique, and singular costume, who was, I think, 
the master of the ceremonies, presented me to the 
Marquis of Bute, who, with much kindness, ad- 
dressed me in French, and invited me to dine the 
same day at the palace. I accepted the invitation 
and withdrew. 

One of the officers of the court followed and 
said to me, " We are going to the General As- 
" sembly ; stay a moment, and you will go with 
" his Grace." I thought proper to refuse, for 
several reasons, especially (this was what I alleged) 
because I had made an engagement to see in the 
course of the morning the Castle, the Parliament 
House, the University, and other curiosities of 
Edinburgh. " Well," said one of the elders of the 
Established Church, with whom I had travelled 
from Newcastle to Edinburgh, and who had very 
kindly welcomed me, " I will come and meet you 
" at the Castle ; we will go and see the rest of the 



170 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" lions together, and among others, the General 
" Assembly." I thanked him, and agreed. I pre- 
ferred walking quietly into the Assembly to going 
in the Queen's carriage with her representative. 
It was too high an honour for me. 

When, after having seen the Castle and the Par- 
liament House, we arrived at the church in which 
the Established General Assembly was sitting; 
" As you were presented to his Grace this morn- 
" ing," said my friend ; " we will go to his plat- 
" form." I should have preferred a more modest 
place, but it was impossible : a door immediately 
opened before us, and we were admitted to our 
seats, I on the right, and my companion on the left 
of the throne of the Lord High Commissioner. 

The platform in which I was seated rises ma- 
jestically over the Moderator's chair, as if to repre- 
sent the superiority of the state over the church. 
The Commissioner's throne is placed under a rich 
canopy of crimson velvet. Behind him stand two 
little pages, with powdered hair, in full court 
dresses of scarlet ; in the back-ground were se- 
veral officers in waiting. The Marquis of Bute, 
who was in an adjoining room when we arrived, 
entered almost immediately after. Below the throne 
was the Assembly, besides the ministers, the elders, 
and a few advocates in their gowns and wigs, 
representing the courts of law which now exert so 
great an influence over the Established Church. 
As for the audience or spectators, they were very 



SCOTLAND. 171 

few in number, scattered here and there in the 
nave ; and in the galleries there were none. 

" Rari nantes in gurgite vasto." 

At the sight of so much grandeur, and at the 
same time so much coldness, one could not help 
inquiring whether this Assembly, which had in its 
favour the pompous representation of power, pos- 
sessed also the cordial sympathies of the people. 
However, I was told, that in the evening there 
were more spectators present. After having for 
a short time listened to their debates, the subject 
of which I do not remember, I rose, made a low 
bow to his Grace, and retired. 

It was a general wish that I would make a speech 
before this Established Assembly. My friend, Mr. 
Frederic Monod, the delegate from Paris, and I, 
had even received a deputation to that effect. 
We thought it right to refuse. In the first place 
it was to the Free Church that we had been de- 
puted ; and I was not even aware that the Estab- 
lished Church was sitting, until the very moment 
of my arrival in Edinburgh. Besides, we perceived 
that such was the state of the public mind in Scot- 
land, that we must absolutely make a choice ; and 
thus we had only to keep within the limits of our 
commission. In fact, neither of these churches 
look with complacency on those who are undecided ; 
and this is very natural. Some colonial churches 
of Australia, having, after much hesitation and 
wavering between the Establishment and the Free 



172 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

Church, decided at last upon belonging to " both 
" Assemblies:" this resolution, was not only repulsed 
disdainfully by the Established, but received in the 
Free Assembly, while I was present, with shouts of 
laughter. I had no wish for either of these fates. 
Besides, what could I have said in the Established 
Church ? It would have been against my con- 
science not to speak in all sincerity ; and yet my 
remarks would have been out of place before so 
august a body. I repeat, I should like to see 
once more, and at no distant day, a united Assem- 
bly ; still I think that, under the circumstances, 
Mr. Monod and I took the only course honourable 
and possible. And in fact, the deputies of the Estab- 
lished Church, who behaved towards us with much 
consideration and nobleness, said to us, " Had we 
" been in your place we should have acted as 
« you did." 

In the evening I returned to the palace, to the 
state dinner. In one of the most spacious halls of 
Holyrood stood an immense table magnificently 
covered. There might have been about eighty 
guests. The Lord High Commissioner was seated 
in the middle, and by his side were placed two 
Scottish lords. Opposite to him was the Modera- 
tor, and on his right hand I was seated. On 
the other side I had the Hebraist, Dr. Lee, one of 
the most famous and amiable professors of the 
University of Edinburgh. Many toasts were given 
for the Queen, the Church, Scotland, &c. There 
were only men present, but the Lord High Com- 



SCOTLAND. 173 

inissioner invited six or eight of the guests to take 
coffee with the Marchioness of Bute, in her apart- 
ment, and had the kindness to include me in the 
number. Some time after we retired, and the 
Marquis accompanied me to the door of the draw- 
ing-room with the kindest expressions. 



V. 



THE EREE ASSEMBLY. 



I now leave the Assembly of the Established 
Church, surrounded by all the pomp of royalty, and 
turn to that of the Free Church. I repeat it, I wish 
to be impartial, and I think I have been and am 
so, notwithstanding what some persons may say.* 
I can respect and admire the science of Dr. Lee, 
the grace of Dr. Hill, the seriousness of Dr. Muir, 
the eloquence of Mr. MacLeod, and the many other 
eminent qualities that are to be found in this 
church. But ought a traveller to carry impartiality 
so far as to conceal the impressions he has received 
from the things he has seen ? I do not think he 

* I was surprised to see the contrary opinion expressed by 
the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, on the occasion of an honour 
which it was intended to confer on me. I can assure the Scotch, 
that an act of the Town Council of Edinburgh is not necessary 
to my becoming their countryman. However that may be, I am 
at heart their fellow- citizen. 



174 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

ought, and were I to do so the distinguished men 
I have just named would themselves be the first to 
condemn me. I will, therefore, speak without par- 
tiality and without fear. 

On passing from one Assembly to the other we 
feel that the state and its power, the nobility and 
their influence, are with the Established Church ; 
and certainly this is something. The Free Church 
has on her side the people and their enthusiasm ; 
but let us not forget that among this people there 
are to be found influential merchants and manufac- 
turers, enlightened lawyers, respectable magistrates, 
and nobles belonging to the most illustrious houses 
of Scotland. 

Perhaps the union of Scotland with England, 
which removed the seat of government, and after- 
wards the parliament itself from Edinburgh to 
London, may have contributed to direct the atten- 
tion of the Scottish people to church matters. The 
meeting of the General Assembly of the church, 
which takes place every year in Edinburgh at the 
end of May, has become the greatest solemnity of 
Scotland. The Assembly sits for ten days, Sunday 
excepted, from eleven o'clock till midnight, or 
sometimes two o'clock in the morning ; and if at 
that late hour any person wishes to retire before the 
closing prayer, one of the clerks cries, " Lock the 
" doors !" and he must stay. It is true, that at ten 
o'clock in this country it is still light enough to 
read. All church business is publicly transacted 
in the General Assembly ; and in the Free Church, 



SCOTLAND. 175 

before an immense auditory, often of four thousand 
persons. 

I wish I could give an idea of the first sitting of 
the Free General Assembly at which I was present. 
It was known that Dr. Chalmers, who had lately 
announced his intention of devoting himself exclu- 
sively to his functions of professor of theology, and of 
retiring from all other public business, would on that 
occasion raise his venerated voice (some thought 
for the last time) to introduce three foreign minis- 
ters, sent to Scotland from France, Switzerland, 
and Germany. They could not certainly do us 
greater honour than appoint Chalmers to intro- 
duce us. The thought of hearing once more 
this venerable old man, whose life had been so 
full of action and of power, and whose voice (a 
fact before unheard of in the history of the church) 
had, as if endowed with magic power, twice covered 
the whole of his country with temples consecrated 
to the Lord ; perhaps also the thought of saluting 
the foreigners, had drawn together an extraordinary 
concourse. The Free General Assembly meets in a 
plain, modest, but vast building, formerly destined, 
I believe, for a manufactory, situated at Cannon 
Mills, at the foot of a hill on a picturesque road 
leading to the sea, towards Fife. The hall is low, 
which renders the atmosphere stifling ; but it is 
very spacious. Under its bare rafters and rude 
beams, which form a strong contrast with the desert 
magnificence of the Established Assembly ; with no 
throne, no Lord High Commissioner, no powdered 



176 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

pages, was assembled, on the evening of the 18th 
of May, an immense auditory enthusiastic for the 
church and for liberty. 

The ministers and elders, members of this great 
synod, who are very numerous, were seated round 
the table and the Moderator's chair. A Christian 
people filled the rest of the hall. A number of minis- 
ters and elders, not members of Assembly, had 
come to Edinburgh from different parts of the coun- 
try on this occasion, and after the morning meeting 
many ladies and gentlemen had intruded into 
the benches for the evening sitting. No one enters 
without a ticket, which may cost as much as ten 
francs, and the hall is generally filled. I shall never 
forget the moment we entered, — my friend Mr. 
Frederic Monod, of Paris, the Rev. Mr. Kunze, of 
Berlin, and I, following Chalmers' steps. Not only 
every seat, but every passage was full ; and even 
where there was no possibility of standing, some 
had found means of suspending themselves ; and 
groups of heads pressed together, heaped up, and 
piled one above another, rose like an amphitheatre 
from the floor to the roof. Long before the com- 
mencement of business, there was no getting in, 
whatever price was offered for a ticket, and a 
crowd surrounded, the entrances without being able 
to hear any thing. We advanced slowly, headed 
by Dr. Chalmers, as it was necessary for the dense 
crowd to open and allow us a passage. Some one 
was reading at that moment a report of the com- 
mittee for the propagation of Christianity among 



SCOTLAND. 177 

the Jews ; but the instant Dr. Chalmers appeared, 
a general movement interrupted the reporter. The 
audience rose, shouted, clapped their hands, stamped, 
and waved hats and handkerchiefs. I can speak 
of this, for I shared not in these acclamations ; I 
had arrived only the day before, and nobody 
knew my face. Whenever Chalmers or any other 
personage, either a Scotchman or a stranger, who 
attracts much attention, appears in the hall, ho 
receives the same salutation, unless they are either 
praying, reading the Scriptures, or singing, in which 
case all goes on in perfect silence ; but if an orator 
is speaking, or a report is being read, the business, 
whatever it may be, is forgotten, and the only 
way of preventing this noisy interruption is to glide 
behind some high benches, holding down your head, 
and thus slipping unperceived into the place you are 
to occupy. The same enthusiastic demonstrations 
often burst forth in the midst of the speeches of the 
most eloquent orators. The moment some power- 
ful expression, some " winged word," strikes the 
assembly, it acts like a waterspout falling on a calm 
and quiet sea. The waters move and rise; the 
waves roll onward and rash together, now falling, 
and now dashing furiously upwards. A Scottish 
assembly is no corpse that nothing can move, as our 
own too often are ; it is a living body of extreme 
sensibility, which will start at the slightest touch. 
Yes : these multitudes feeling so deep an interest 
in the debates of the church, for the cause of the 
people of God, is a spectacle which even the world 

N 



178 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS, 

does not present, when political debates are in 
progress, and the earthly interests of nations are 
at stake. Neither in the Houses of Parliament in 
London, nor in the Palais Bourbon in Paris, is to 
be seen any thing like what is witnessed in the Can- 
non Mills at Edinburgh. Let us, therefore, respect 
these noisy exhibitions, however extraordinary 
they may appear to us. It is right that the church 
should somewhere show to that world which so 
often sneers at her, that she is able to feel more 
enthusiasm for the cause of Christ, than the world 
does for social and material interests. 

We thus advanced, following the gray head of 
Chalmers : a Parisian newspaper, " l'Esperance," 
(generally Christian, but rather high church,) took 
an opportunity, in a report of this meeting, to speak 
jestingly of the circumstance. " The hoary head," 
Solomon declares, " is a crown of glory." 

Chalmers, as he said at the time, felt as if that 
Avere the most interesting moment of his exist- 
ence. Can I avoid repeating his eloquent and 
energetic discourse ? Can I, for instance, keep 
back these words addressed so particularly to 
Geneva ? " I know not how it is," exclaimed 
Chalmers, " there is no geographical relation be- 
" tween Geneva and Scotland ; Geneva is not much 
" in the way, but certainly there is a strong 
y historical relation between them. Why, in 
u former days, as by an electric spark from Geneva, 
" the moment that Knox landed upon our shores, 
" a flame was awakened, which quickly spread 



SCOTLAND. 179 

" itself over all the provinces of Scotland. Could 
" that flame be again awakened, the cause of 
" truth might again prevail over the counsels of 
" the ungodly, as it did centuries ago, when in the 
" days of Mary and of James, it prevailed over 
" the perfidy of courts ! " 

Chalmers went still farther. His great name has 
been throughout both Scotland and England, as 
upon the Continent, the apology of the Free Church. 
Many were unable to study the whole details of 
the question ; but Chalmers, one of the most philo- 
sophical minds, and one of the most Christian 
souls of our age, was upon that side ; this was 
sufficient to make them say, " There lies the 
"truth;" and I should not be surprised, if the 
thought that a Corresponding Member of the Insti- 
tute of France was at the head of this movement, 
had some influence in biasing the Journal des Debats 
in its favour, as was shown in a remarkable article 
which appeared in it at the time of the disruption. 
The adversaries of the Free Church laying hold of 
the fact that Chalmers, on account of his age, had 
retired from the Financial Committee, were saying, 
when I arrived in England, that he had had enough 
of it, and that he was drawing back. The doctor 
thought it his duty, such is my opinion at least, to 
embrace this opportunity of declaring, that his senti- 
ments were still the same, and he did so with preci- 
sion and energy. " What I have to say may look a 
" little hard and exclusive ; nevertheless I will not 
a forget the apostolic admonition of ■ first pure, then 

N 2 



180 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

' peaceable,' — it may look a little hard and ex- 
c elusive ; but I do confess to you that I regard as 
' co-ordinate errors, standing upon the same level, 
' anti christian Erastianism on the one hand, and 
' popery on the other : (that is to say, the doctrine 
' which attributes supremacy in the church to the 

I state, and that which attributes it to the priest 
4 of Rome). It is of no consequence to me where 
' the power that claims to be paramount to the 
'Bible springs from, — whether it come from a 
' civil or from an ecclesiastical source ; it is still 
' human authority claiming precedence over the dic- 
' tates of that great directory of our faith." These 

words of Chalmers deserve to be well weighed. 

As for the reproach of a sectarian spirit, which 
the adversaries of the Free Church have sometimes 
addressed to her, who is pure, except the Infallible 
One ? I think that in every man, and I will not 
except myself, there lies a germ of sectarianism. 
But with regard to the intention of the general 
spirit of a church, the words which Chalmers next 
uttered, and the manner in which they were received, 
are a sufficient answer to this reproach. " I trust," 
said he, " that you will not charge me with over- 

II liberality, if I say, as I do from my conscience, 
" that among the great majority of evangelical 
" Dissenters in this country, I am not aware of 
" any topics of difference which I do not regard as 
" so many men of straw ; and shall be exceedingly 
u delighted if these foreign gentlemen get the 
" hearts of the various denominations to meet 



SCOTLAND. 181 

" together, and consult to make a bonfire of 
" them." 

Here enthusiastic cheers, the voice (as it were) 
of the Free Church, interrupted the speaker, and 
thus gave the full sanction of the Assembly to 
this condemnation of sectarianism. " Yes," re- 
sumed Chalmers with energy, the moment that he 
was allowed to proceed ; " while I deprecate the 
" latitudinarianism that would lay too little stress 
" on what is important, I feel as if I could not 
" sufficiently deprecate and denounce the evil of 
" that ultra and exclusive sectarianism which lays 
" too great stress upon what is insignificant, and 
" the suppression of which would remove a mighty 
" obstacle which at present lies in the way of a 
" visible union of Christians." 



VI. 



SPEECHES OF THE DEPUTIES. 

Mr. Monod, Mr. Kuntze, and I, spoke in suc- 
cession. I will not repeat all our speeches (I 
think mine lasted above an hour). They have 
been embodied in the official report of the General 
Assembly. My friend, Mr. Monod, gave a very 
striking picture of continental Popery, that drew 

H 3 



182 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

upon him a letter from the Eomish Bishop of 
Edinburgh, which he triumphantly answered. As 
for myself, I will only say, that I endeavoured, 
among other things, to show to our brethren of the 
Free Church, that they were placed in a very 
favourable position for becoming the engine of a 
mighty Christian union, and that God himself was 
calling them to the work. You know what has 
since been done : to their Christian activity we 
owe the meeting at Liverpool and the Evangelical 
Alliance. I trust that, with God's help, we shall be 
indebted to them for more ample developments in 
time to come. Satisfied with having called for this 
great work in Geneva, in St. Gall, in Edinburgh, 
in Liverpool, and in London, I now leave it in better 
hands. 

Dr. Gordon, one of the most venerable and 
respected men in Scotland, after we had done 
speaking, moved that the Assembly should express 
its sincere gratitude to Almighty God for his great 
and unmerited goodness shown to the Free Church 
of Scotland, by permitting it to enjoy the blessings 
of Christian and brotherly communion with the 
churches and evangelical societies of other coun- 
tries. " The best wish I can express for the 
" brethren from foreign lands who have visited us 
" this evening," said he in conclusion, " is, that they 
" may leave it with impressions as deep, as solemn, 
u and as salutary, as those which they have left in 
" the minds of this Assembly." 



SCOTLAND. 183 

The moderator, Dr. Macfarlane of Greenock, then 
rose and addressed to ns the answer of the As- 
sembly with that noble simplicity which charac- 
terises him. " Geneva," he said, addressing him- 
self particularly to me, " Geneva, the city of Farel 
" and Calvin, — had cast off its first love, and had 
" sunk into Arianism and infidelity. You and my 
" beloved brother, Dr. Gaussen, have been two 
" of the honoured instruments of reviving in it, 
" evangelical, I trust I may add, spiritual reli- 
" gion. * * * I regard the formation of your 
" Evangelical Society as one of the most interesting 
" events of modern times, — one which, it is to be 
" hoped, will issue in unspeakable blessings, not to 
" Geneva and Switzerland only, but to the con- 
" tinent of Europe." 

The Kev. Dr. Brown of Glasgow ended the pro- 
ceedings with a most simple and deeply affecting 
prayer. We felt that the Lord was in the midst of 
us. The auditors, to the number of four or five 
thousand, raised their voices together to God in a 
solemn and thrilling strain ; and then the Assembly 
adjourned between one and two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, without having, for an instant, ceased to ex- 
hibit the most earnest attention, and the most lively 
and Christian interest. 

One word more, and I have done. I also can 
say, like Chalmers, that the 28th of May, 1845, 
was one of the most interesting moments of my 
existence. Such days are, no doubt, exciting; 
perhaps, for that very reason, oppressive to the 



184 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS 

body : but we are also supported from on High ; we 
enjoy the purest delights ; and hence our strength 
is renewed. I have seen a foreigner, who being 
drawn into the midst of the movement of this 
Scottish vortex, during these chosen days, had no 
longer a thought at his command. Every thing 
was in a whirl, both within and without ; and his 
only desire was to be quiet and unnoticed, under 
some pine, in some lonely mountain glen. But 
this desire of solitude and peace, so natural in 
the midst of incessant activity, is in a manner 
realised in Scotland every seven days, for there is 
every week the day of rest, the Sunday so precious 
to Scotland, which refreshes you. Besides, when 
we remember that the primary and true principle 
of the bustle and eagerness of these great assem- 
blies is the love of God, and, that the true end of 
them is the glory of God, we can easily bear the 
fatigue which accompanies them. 

I was ill when I left the Continent, I had been 
unwell all the winter, and I was but very imper- 
fectly acquainted with the English language in 
which I had to express my thoughts ; yet I set out 
with the belief that I was fulfilling a duty, and 
trusting in the Lord. This help never failed me ; 
God carried me in His arms. In one day I had to 
speak three times before large assemblies, and to 
set out immediately afterwards to speak in another 
town ; yet, I repeat, He never failed me. The Lord 
gave me words, strength, and rest ; at the same 
time surrounding' me with the most unmerited and 



SCOTLAND. 185 

valuable kindness. It is good to take Him for a 
master. We must work, for the Lord hath said, 
"Work while it is day;" but woe to him who 
glories in his own work ! Jesus opened eyes with 
clay ; does the clay think of glorying ? Let us 
labour, if we can, with Peter, with Paul, and with 
Martha ; but, after our labours are ended, let us sit 
down with David, with John, and with Mary, at the 
feet of the Master, and say to Him, " Consume with 
" thy fire the impurities I have mingled with my 
" offering, and bring out of it a sweet savour to thine 
" own glory." Yes, there is only one glory, that 
of being the least in the household of God ! May 
God grant it unto us ! 



186 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

CHAP. IV. 

THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 

I. The Produce of Scotland. Development of Being. The 
two Influences. The two Swords. Task of the Reformation. — 
2. Distinctions between the Evangelical and the Moderate Par- 
ties. Not in Doctrine. Person of Christ. The two Natures. 
The Arminian Question. — 3. The Church Question. Dis- 
tinction between Scotland and England. Different Origins of 
their Churches. Scotland considered from the English point of 
View. Should Scotland draw nearer to England, or England 
to Scotland ? — 4. Doctrine of Scotland respecting the Church. 
Kingship of Christ. His Laws. His Ministers. Spiritual 
and Temporal Government. Incapacity of the latter to 
govern the Church. — 5. Government of Christ opposed to 
that of Antichrist. The Reformation cannot be a mere 
Negation. The Right of Scotland. The two Principles of 
the Secession : 1st. Non-intrusion; 2d, Spiritual Independence. 
A Theorem and two Corollaries. Essential Cause of the 
Disruption. 6. The Scottish and the Separationist Systems. 
Differences. Complete and Imperfect. Positive and Nega- 
tive. Doctrine and Discipline. Effectual and Ineffectual. 
Claims of the State. 7. Three Phases of the Scottish Church. 
Conscience and Expediency. Discord not Union. Accusa- 
tion. Complement. The Solar System. 

I. 

TWO INFLUENCES. 

I have stated ray general impressions of Scot- 
land : but is this all I have to say of her ? Here 
are public places, temples, palaces ; there, moun- 
tains, plains, and lakes. Who are they who fre- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 187 

quented those temples, those palaces, those mar- 
kets ? What has taken place on those plains ? 
And what interests have moved the hearts of the 
inhabitants of those Highlands ? Can I only behold 
Scotland in the present ? No : when first I set my 
foot on this venerable land, it was the Scotland of 
three centuries ago that appeared before me. 

I have been in Scotland ; what shall I bring you 
from thence ? If a traveller returning from distant 
countries, from the Tropics or from China, brings 
home to his countrymen the rich productions of their 
soil, shall I not bring home to you that excellent 
plant which God has caused to flourish in the 
Caledonian regions ? If another traveller brings 
from England information as to manners and the 
laws of political science ; and if one in particular of 
our fellow citizens, (Delolme,) has rendered himself 
illustrious by a work, which has contributed to 
establish constitutional rule in Europe, shall I not 
bring back to you from Scotland those manners and 
laws of the church, which so eminently distinguish 
her among nations ? 

As I was engaged with various occupations, I 
might have kept silence, when asked for an account 
of my journey. But this it is which induces me to 
speak. Scotland has a mission in the Christian 
world, and in order that this mission may be ac- 
complished, we should become acquainted with it. 
If Scotland is entrusted with a mission to the Con- 
tinent, in what part of the Continent should this 
mission be recognised and pointed out ? Who is 



188 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

called upon to act as mediator between Scotland 
and the rest of the church, if not Geneva ? You 
have already heard Chalmers upon the relationship 
existing between Scotland and Geneva. 

Every being, in order to prosper, must have a 
development peculiar to itself, sui generis , as it is 
called. If once foreign influences come to be min- 
gled with it, that development is compromised. It 
is thus with every plant, every animal, every man, 
and even with inorganic beings. Ask the Ehone 
wherefore, after leaving our lake as pure as the sky 
itself, it becomes so muddy ? It is because the 
sandy torrent coming down from Mont Blanc, 
mingles its troubled waters with the azure wave of 
the river ; the confluence, the union defiles it. 

The Christian church had at first, like our Ehone, 
a separate existence, a development of her own, and 
she was then comparatively pure. But, in the 
beginning of the fourth century, the half Pagan 
state became united to her, and this juncture 
immediately threw into the heavenly blue of the 
church those muddy waters which deform her 
beauty. The church comes from God ; but she is, 
she must be, on the earth, and therein lies her 
danger. If you tie her down to the earth closer 
than is strictly necessary; if you unite her inti- 
mately with civil order; if you give political society 
a power over her : the evil becomes alarming. The 
church thenceforth will have two principles of de- 
velopment; on the one hand, the Word and the 
Spirit of God; on the other, the policy and the 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 189 

diplomacy of the world. How can a society prosper 
subjected to two such contrary influences ? Know 
you not that in education, homogeneous influence 
is a primary condition ? Know you not that a ship 
must be carried forward by one current alone ; and 
if a contrary current interfere, the result is a 
dangerous whirlpool, and perhaps a dreadful gulph 
in which the ship will be swallowed up. Christ 
has established the church under one headship, and 
that is His own. 

The state having intermixed its headship in the 
church since the era of Constantine, political society 
being interwoven with the spiritual, it became ne- 
cessary to return to the order of things from whence 
they set out, and recommence the primitive exist- 
ence. This was one of the tasks of the sixteenth 
century. 

It was the more indispensable, as this double, 
half-political, half-spiritual existence, was realised 
in its greatest completeness in the Papacy. You 
all know the famous fable of Rome about the two 
swords. The Popes pretend that the saying ad- 
dressed by St. Peter to his master, " Here are two 
" swords," signifies that the spiritual and the tem- 
poral power ought to be united, and united in the 
hands of the Pope. Certainly St. Peter had little 
idea of what he was saying ! 

What is at this moment (1846) agitating the Le- 
gations and the States of the Church ? It is the de- 
sire of separating these two powers — a desire which 
Rome obstinately resists ; knowing that from the 



190 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

moment she is no longer supported by the sword, 
by musketeers, and, alas! by Swiss, she will fall 
into contempt, and her end will not be far distant. 

In order, therefore, to be a complete work, the 
Eeformation ought to correct that evil. 

She has partly done so in Germany, France, and 
Geneva ; but it was especially in Scotland that the 
church, which ever since the fourth century had 
led a twofold existence, half civil, half spiritual, 
like one of the monsters of antiquity, returned to 
its pure source, and commenced anew a single and 
divine existence. 

Many Protestant churches, depriving the Pope of 
the supremacy he had usurped, consented that the 
magistrate or the king should take upon him that 
jurisdiction, and thus maintain, under another 
form, that confusion of civil and religious things 
which is to be found in Popery. The Church of 
Scotland, on the contrary, asserting that it was the 
place of Christ himself which the Pope had usurped, 
resisted every effort made by the political power to 
take possession of it. This, then, is the point from 
which diverge the two parties now existing within 
the national church of Scotland, the Evangelical, 
and the Moderate party ; the former composing the 
Free Church, the latter the church established by 
the state. 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 19 L 

II. 

DOCTRINE. 

In fact, the difference between these parties lies 
not, properly speaking, in doctrine. The Mode- 
rate party, though doubtless less strict and less 
vital than the other, and though towards the 
end of the last century very near falling into 
Arianism, is now in general applying itself to main- 
tain purity of doctrine ; and I have often thought, 
that on the Continent, it would be happy for us if 
our national churches professed so orthodox a faith. 
The difference does not arise in Scotland, as in 
Geneva, France, or Germany, from the one being 
Unitarian and Pelagian, while the other is orthodox 
and evangelical : no, all are orthodox in Scotland. 
Justice requires us to acknowledge this. 

One of the most amiable men I met with in Scot- 
land was Dr. Hill, then moderator of the General 
Assembly of the Established Church, who showed 
me a kindness which I remember with sincere 
gratitude. While we were in the carriage which 
was taking us to the Palace of Holyrood, I asked 
him if he were any relation of Dr. George Hill, the 
author of some remarkable Lectures on Divinity. 
" He was my father," said he, seemingly much 
pleased that his parent's writings were known on 
the Continent. There are in Europe, and not far 
from this place, many academies in which I would 



192 TKAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

fain see professed the doctrines which the late Dr. 
Hill taught in the University of St. Andrews. This 
is worth stopping to consider. If it is evident that, 
what is commonly called, among us, " doctrines 
" essential to salvation," are not implicated in the 
Scottish question, I am of opinion that the church, 
which is capable of producing by its individual 
efforts, movements so considerable and sacrifices 
so wonderful, must rise the higher in our eyes in 
grandeur and importance. 

Would you, therefore, know what the party op- 
posed to the evangelical — or, as it would here be 
called, the Methodistical party — taught, and is yet 
teaching in Scotland, upon the person of Christ ? 
I like to repeat it in this town of Geneva, wherein 
the divinity of Christ and the Holy Trinity are so 
obstinately combated and denied. These are the 
words of the moderate Scottish doctor : — " Jesus 
" Christ is the Creator of the world. * * * The 
" Jehovah who appeared to the patriarchs was 
" worshipped in the temple, and by the prophets 
" announced as the Author of a new dispensation. 
u * * * yy e -Q n( j foe Scriptures ascribing to 
" Jesus an existence without beginning, without 
" change, without limitation ; and connected, in the 
" whole extent of space which it fills, with the 
" exercise of the most perfect intelligence. These 
" are the essential attributes of Deity. Measures 
" of power may be communicated ; degrees of 
" wisdom and goodness may be imparted to created 
" spirits ; but our conceptions of God are con- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 193 

" founded, and we lose sight of every circumstance 
" by which he is characterised, if such a manner 
" of existence as we have now described, be com- 
" mon to him and any creature."* 

In another place the Moderate theologian says, — 
" It is by the union of two natures in one person 
" that Christ is qualified to be the Saviour of the 
" world. * * * Had Jesus been only man, or 
" had he been one of the spirits that surround the 
" throne of God, he could not have accomplished 
" the work which he undertook; for the whole 
u obedience of every creature being due to the 
" Creator, no part of that obedience can be placed 
" to the account of other creatures, so as to supply 
" the defects of their service, or to rescue them 
" from the punishment which they deserve. The 
" Scriptures, therefore, reveal that he who appeared 
" upon earth as man is also God, and, as God, was 
" mighty to save ; and by this revelation, they 
u teach us that the merit of our Lord's obedience 
" and the efficacy of his interposition, depend upon 
" the hypostatical union. * * * The hypos- 
" tatical union," adds the doctor of St. Andrews, 
" is the corner-stone of our religion." f 

This was what was taught in Scotland in the 
age of "Voltaire and Rousseau ; and is now still 
taught in the party opposed to the Evangelicals, for 

* Lectures on Divinity, by the late George Hill, D. D., 
vol. ii. pp. iv. 201. 

t Ibid. vol. ii, pp. 249. 251. 





194 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

the theology of Dr. Hill is the text-book of the 
lectures of their professors. 

I will not exhibit the St. Andrews' doctor, 
victoriously establishing these great truths, — that 
there is one God in three persons, the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost ; that there exists original 
and hereditary sin, in consequence of which the 
whole human race is corrupt and guilty before 
God ; that the sufferings of Christ are the punish- 
ment of sin, and the effects ascribed to them are 
reconciliation and redemption ; that in order for 
this immense grace to be applied to a sinner, there 
must be within him, by the works of the Holy 
Spirit, regeneration, conversion, and faith ; from 
which proceeds justification ; and from justification 
repentance, sanctification, and good works. But you 
will, perhaps, wonder more if I tell you of the lectures 
of Dr. Hill, upon the doctrines of Arminius and 
Calvin compared. You are aware that Arminius was 
a Dutch theologian in the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century, and that it was by the introduction 
of his lax opinions that the reformed churches of 
Geneva and France began to depart from the doc- 
trines of the Reformation. This part of Dr. Hill's 
work had always struck me : I said so to his son, 
the Moderator. He replied with an amiable smile, 
that it was, in fact, the part on which his father 
had taken most pains, and with which he was par- 
ticularly pleased. 

I must be excused if this is tedious. Having 
been called upon as a theologian to speak of Scot- 






THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 195 

land, how can I do so without speaking of theology ? 
Were I asked to speak of railways, or things of that 
kind, I should answer, that I am no engineer. If 
you will have me talk of Scotland, I must, whether 
you like it or not, occupy a few minutes with theo- 
logy, otherwise you will have nothing of Scotland, 
— of its characteristics. To speak of Scotland 
without theology, is to say nothing about it. " The 

- Arminian system," says the Doctor of St. Andrews, 
' while in words it ascribes all to the grace of God, 

■ does, in effect, resolve our salvation into some- 
' thing independent of that grace." * 

" For, while the grace of God and the will of 
' man are conceived (in the Arminian system) to 

• be partial causes, concurring in the production 

■ of the same effect (as it may, perhaps, be said, 
that a horse, and the coachman who whips it, 
are two partial causes of the progress of the car), 

c the grace of God is only a remote cause of salva- 

- tion — a cause operating indifferently upon all ; 
' sufficient, indeed, but often ineffectual. The 

• proximate, specific cause of salvation, by which 
' the effects of the universal cause are discrimin- 
: ated, is (according to the Arminians, whom we 
' assert to be wrong, ) to be found in the qualities 
' of the subject which receives the grace of God, 
' since upon these qualities it depends whether this 

• grace shall overcome or shall be counteracted." f 

* Lectures on Divinity, by the late George Hill, D. D., 
vol. iii. p. 80. 

f Ibid. vol. iii. p. 89. 



196 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

" For, if the grace which is given indifferently 
" to two persons, John and Judas, which is suffi- 
f cient for both, and might have been resisted 
" by both, is not resisted by John, and in con- 
" sequence of that non-resistance conducts him 
" to salvation, but is resisted by Judas, and in 
" consequence of that resistance proves ineffectual ; 
" ' * * * Thou didst give to my neighbour,' may 
" the former say, ' as to me : but my will has im- 
" ' proved what thou gavest, while the will of my 
" ' neighbour has resisted all thine operations.' This 
u language, which the Arminians must suppose 
" every one that is saved entitled to hold to the 
" Almighty, by implying that man has something 
" independent of the grace of God, whereof he may 
" boast, and whereby he may distinguish himself 
" from other men in the sight of God, not only 
■ - contradicts the doctrine of original sin, and those 
'; lessons of humility which the Gospel uniformly 
" teaches (and that declaration of Scripture, ' What 
" ' hast thou, oh man, which thou hast not re- 
" ' ceived ?'), but seems to involve the Arminians 
" themselves in contradiction. For * * * while 
" in words they ascribe all good works to the grace 
" of God, they suspend the beginning, the progress, 
" and the continuance of these good works upon 
" the will of man." These are the words of the 
professor of St. Andrews.* 

* Lectures on Divinity, by the late George Hill, D. D., 
vol. iii. p. 90, 91. 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 197 

I need not say that the Scottish theologians do 
not think that man is to be saved without free will, 
— his own free will ; they only say that the will 
which necessarily enters into the work of salvation, 
is a will purified, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, 
in virtue of the election of God. 

But I will go no further into theology ; let this 
sample suffice : and I repeat, that I have not taken 
it from the writings of evangelical divines, be- 
cause it might perhaps have been said to me, 
" These are the Scottish enthusiasts ; they are to 
" be found every where." No, I have chosen my 
specimens from among the Moderates, as they are 
called in Scotland, and they have no other name 
there. I have taken my sample from among the 
national party, from a church united to the state. 

I do not hesitate to affirm that so pure a doc- 
trine, even among those who are not called Evan- 
gelicals, redounds to the honour of Scotland at 
large, without any party distinction. I am no 
party man, I do not wish to be so, and wherever 
I find any thing praiseworthy, I give it praise. 
I have to add, (and after what I have just said of 
its doctrine you will not be surprised at this,) 
that the General Assembly of the Church of 
Scotland, united to the state, desiring last year 
(1845) " to draw closer the bonds of Christian 
" union between herself and all the churches 
" which maintain the truth as it is in Jesus " — 
these are its own expressions, — and having pro- 
posed to write to the Church of Geneva, has ad- 

o 3 



198 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

dressed tlie Evangelical Society of Geneva which 
meets in this place. This society has received 
three letters from the Convener of the Committee 
of Correspondence of the Established Church of 
Scotland with foreign churches. But for some time 
there have been no other communications. 



III. 



THE TWO EXTREMITIES OE THE SCALE. 

If they are so well agreed upon these important 
points, in what, then, do the Evangelical and the 
Moderate parties differ in Scotland ? It is in the 
doctrine of the church with regard to its relations 
with the state. 

The Free Church has remained steadfast to the 
characteristic principles of Scotland. The Moderate 
party, the present Established Church, appears to 
me to have, unthinkingly, deviated towards the 
principles established in England. 

A comparison between the Church of Scotland 
and that of England, may make the essence of the 
former more easily understood. It is acknow- 
ledged in Scotland that there may be a union be- 
tween the church and the state. I will not just 
now examine whether this is right or wrong ; but 
I merely observe, that, to realise this union, they 
think it requisite not to mingle or confound ; but 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 199 

on the contrary, to distinguish and separate with 
the greatest possible exactness, the temporal and 
the spiritual interests ; in order on the one hand to 
render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, 
and, on the other, to render to God the things that 
are God's. 

In England, the contrary has been done : there 
was, originally at least, more than union between 
the church and the state, — there was unity of both ; 
and instead of distinguishing and separating the 
spiritual from the temporal interests, as in Scotland, 
they took the opposite way, and have intimately 
united, and completely interwoven them. 

Of all the churches of the Eeformation, the 
Church of Scotland is the one in which the prin- 
ciple of the independence of the church, as to the 
state, has been carried to the greatest extreme ; 
while the Church of England, on the contrary, is 
the one in which the principle of the royal prero- 
gative, or supremacy, has been the most strictly 
realised. Thus, the two churches, which are geo- 
graphically next to each other, are placed, as to 
ecclesiastical principles, at the two extremities of 
the scale. 

These very different modes of realising the union 
of the two bodies, originate in the manner in which 
the Eeformation was brought about in the two 
nations. 

In Scotland, the Eeformation proceeded from the 
conversion of souls among the people ; it made its 
way from the inward to the outward, from low 

o 4 



200 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

to high. In England, there was a similar Refor- 
mation ; but there was also another, and it was 
this latter which bestowed her peculiar constitution 
on the Anglican Church. In that country the 
movement which organised the church proceeded 
from the king and a few bishops ; it operated from 
the outward to the inward, from high to low. It 
was, therefore, natural to expect that the Christian 
people should bear rule in the Church of Scotland, 
and the Christian state, on the other hand, govern 
in the Church of England. 

This explains why there is now, in a considerable 
number of the ministers and members of the 
Church of England, a decided movement towards 
Borne. By the principles above stated, the Church 
of England comes near to that of Rome, though 
in other respects they are as far apart as heaven 
from earth. In both, the Christian people have 
but few rights, and must remain more or less 
passive; while, on the contrary, the Church of 
Scotland, in which is realised to the greatest ex- 
tent what we have called the Genevan element, — 
that church in which in great measure are to be 
found the rights and the vitality of the Chris- 
tian people, forms of all the Protestant churches 
the most decided contrast to the Papacy. 

There is great injustice in judging of Scotland, 
as is frequently done in England, from the English 
point of view, They misunderstand the very 
essence of the Scottish Church, who assimilate it 
in principle with the Church of England, and then 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 201 

conclude that the Scotch are a turbulent people, 
and are acting very improperly. But justice re- 
quires us, when we judge of a church, to apply to 
it its own rules, and not those rules with which it 
is unacquainted. Yet by following out the contrary 
plan, a wrong has been done in England, not only 
by the government, but by many ministers and 
members of the church. Let us hope they will 
soon view it aright. 

It may be asked, Should Scotland draw towards 
the principles of England, or should England draw 
towards those of Scotland ? This is a question of 
importance. The English government, under Sir 
Robert Peel, decided for the former alternative. 
If I am to express my own opinion candidly and 
fearlessly, I will say, that I incline towards the 
latter. 

Two tendencies, or rather two facts, of the pre- 
sent day, which are now developing themselves in 
England in a decided and alarming manner, seem 
to call upon that country to draw closer towards 
the principles of Scotland. 

The first of these, is the manner in which an 
important part of the Church of England is from 
day to day drawing nearer Rome. If they desire 
to oppose Rome, it cannot be done by resembling 
her, or by placing dependence upon the hierarchy, 
or upon the assistance of the state, as Rome her- 
self does ; but, on the contrary, by a contrast with 
Rome, by seeking support in the faith and ac- 
tivity of a Christian people. 



202 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

The second of these facts, is the ever increasing 
tendency of the English government to detach itself 
from Protestant interests, and to sacrifice them 
to political expediency. When once the govern- 
ment withdraws its patronage from the Christian 
people, ought not these people to arise, bestir 
themselves in their own affairs, and undertake to 
defend themselves ? 

I therefore think that England, in the serious 
circumstances in which she is now placed, instead 
of striving against Scotland, and always opposing 
her views, would do much better to study im- 
partially the principles there professed, and to 
apply them in the degree in which they are applic- 
able to herself; for that the Church of England 
ought to preserve her own distinctive character, is 
what we do not mean to contest. 

In England, on the contrary, it will be thought 
that Scotland ought to approach nearer to the 
governmental system ; or, at least, that Scotland and 
England ought to persist, each in its own way, in 
the system peculiar to itself. In many respects, 
no doubt, they should ; but I do not think they 
ought to do so in all. I am aware it will be 
said, that the opinion I express is not to be won- 
dered at : that I am a Presbyterian, that I am a 
Genevese. So I am. Yet it is not in the spirit of 
narrow bigotry that I speak. I love England, and 
I am not prejudiced against episcopacy. But I 
have studied the times and the systems, and I can- 
didly state the result of my examination. Every 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 203 

one ma) 7 accept or reject it as lie thinks proper. 
I do not presumptuously affirm it, but appeal with 
modesty to the judgment of the wise in the church 
and in the nation. 



IV. 



CHURCH AXD GOVERNMENT. 

I now come to the doctrine of Scotland upon 
the Headship of the church, and upon the church 
itself. This doctrine appears to me to have ail the 
exactness of a theorem. These are the propositions 
by which they proceed ; they are the foundation of 
the whole edifice : 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the church 
both visible and invisible. " He is the head of the 
" body, the church." (Col. i. 18.) 

" The Lord God shall give unto him the throne 
" of his father David : and he shall reign over the 
"house of Jacob for, ever; and of his kingdom 
" there shall be no end." (Luke, i. 32, 33.) 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the par- 
ticular churches, comprehended in the visible 
church, as may be seen in the letters which he 
writes to each of the seven churches of Asia. 
(Rev. ii. 3.) 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of every 



204 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

member or minister of the church. " The head of 
" every man is Christ." (1 Cor. xi. 3.) 

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of every 
Christian assembly : " For where two or three are 
" gathered together in my name, there am I in 
" the midst of them." (Matt, xviii. 20.) 

Christ alone, as King, creates the church and 
churches, and alone he builds them up. When he 
communicates the Gospel and his grace to a town, 
a province, or a country, the instantaneous effect 
is, that within this town, this province, or this 
country, there is a church of Christ : this is what 
happened at Jerusalem, at Ephesus, at Rome, and 
at Geneva. Churches are not, cannot be, created 
and established by civil decrees or by acts of par- 
liament, by republican legislatures, or by con- 
cordats. 

Christ, as King, bestows on the church the know- 
ledge and the rules which she needs, and in the 
Bible alone are these to be found. 

The laws of Christ, the King of the church, 
regulate doctrine, life, worship, discipline, govern- 
ment ; and these laws are sufficient : so that no 
case can occur in which the church is unable to 
decide conformably to the will of her King, or 
at least to the general principles laid down in the 
Bible. 

Christ, the King of the church, having insti- 
tuted a ministry, the government of the church 
belongs exclusively to the elders and ministers 
whom He has set over her. 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 205 

The authority of these rulers of the church is 
not derived either from Episcopal or Presbyterian 
succession, or by transmission from their predeces- 
sors, or by the appointment of the state ; but im- 
mediately and exclusively from Christ the King. 

A minister must, it is true, receive the laying 
on of hands from those set apart for that purpose 
(this the Word of God commands) ; but the 
minister does not derive his authority from that 
company of elders. When a judge or an officer is 
appointed by the king, it is necessary that the 
appointment or the commission which he has thus 
received from the prince, should be recognised and 
proclaimed in the court of justice, or in the staff 
to which he is to belong ; yet it is neither from 
this staff, nor from this court, that his authority is 
derived. In the same manner, the commission of 
the incorruptible Prince, the appointment and the 
calling of the King of kings, is the only source of 
the authority of the holy ministry. 

Christ being thus the King, the only King of the 
church, and having provided every thing necessary 
for her, it results therefrom that the church ought 
to be "subject to Christ" (Ephes. v. 24.) ; and 
to Christ alone. 

As there is a spiritual government established 
by the Lord to rule over the church, so there is 
also a temporal government established by the 
Lord to rule over the social and political interests 
of nations. Each of these governments should 
remain within its own sphere. 



206 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

The political government can have no claim to 
direct in any way the affairs of the church ; in 
this lies the essence of the question. 

It cannot, for it is to the spiritual government 
alone that Christ has delivered the power of the 
keys. (Matt.xvi. 19. John, xx. 23.) 

It cannot, for it is on the spiritual government 
alone that Christ has laid all the responsibility of 
the government of the church. (Acts, xx. 17 — 28. 
1 Peter, v. i-4. Eev. ii. 14—20.) 

It cannot, for it is to the spiritual government 
alone that Christ has given all the directions neces- 
sary for the administration of the church. (Matt, 
xvi. 15 — 18. Titus, i. 5 — 9., iii. 10. 1 Tim. iii.) 

It cannot, for it is to the spiritual government 
alone that Christ has promised all the grace requi- 
site to perform it, (Matt, xxviii. 20. 2 Cor. xi. 28. 
Ephes. iv. 7. 11, 12.) 

It cannot, for it is to the spiritual government 
alone that Christ requires the members of the 
church to be subject as to the affairs of the church. 
(1 Thes. v. 12. Heb. xiii. 7. 17.) 

It cannot, for Christ has nowhere enjoined to 
the members of the church obedience to the civil 
magistrate, except as to civil matters. (Rom. xiii. 
1_7. Luke, xii. 13, 14,) 

It cannot, for Christ has prescribed the qualifi- 
cations required in the spiritual rulers of the church, 
in order to govern the church ; but has nowhere 
prescribed the same to the civil magistrates. 
(1 Tim. iii. 4—6. Tit. i. 5—11.) 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 207 

It cannot, for Christ has declared that the power 
with which the civil magistrate is armed, is the 
power of the sword (Rom. xiii. 14.); and this is a 
species of power which cannot, without persecution, 
be used in the government of the church. 

Lastly, it cannot, because Christ by his address- 
ing Pilate in these memorable words, " My king- 
u clom is not of this world" (John, xviii. 36.), 
has drawn the line of demarcation between the 
church and the state in such a way that it is 
well established, that the government of the one 
cannot intrude into the limits of the other. 

It results from all this, that the civil magistrate 
has no right whatsoever to rule in the church ; 
that not only he has no right to command in it 
that which is evil, but he has not even the right to 
command in it that which is good. 

This is the system of the Church of Scotland, — a 
system wherein each of its propositions is sup- 
ported by the declarations of the Word of God. 



V. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE SYSTEM. 

This system was a necessity. The Papacy of 
Rome being essentially a system of ecclesiastical 
government, and that a very able and powerful 



208 TRAVELLING EECOLLECTIONS. 

one, displaying all the wisdom of darkness ; a 
system which by its force, its consistency, its co- 
herence, has achieved, and is even now achieving 
great things ; it was necessary for the Reforma- 
tion to establish, in opposition to the government 
of Antichrist, the government of Christ himself. 
If the Reformation is not a mere denial of Popery ; 
if, on the contrary, it has everywhere established, 
in opposition to the errors of Rome, positive prin- 
ciples and truths — salvation by grace, in opposi- 
tion to salvation by works — regeneration by the 
Holy Spirit, in opposition to the opus operatum of 
the sacraments, and so on ; in like manner, it was 
necessary that it should do the same with regard 
to the organisation of the church, and her rela- 
tions with the state. It is the glory of the Church 
of Scotland, that she has been entrusted by God 
with this work, and admirably has she accomplished 
it. To this her whole history bears witness. It is 
in Scotland we find all that distinguishes in the 
most striking manner the Evangelical from the 
Papal church. 

We therefore protest against the insinuations 
and the accusations to which Scotland has been 
more than once subjected, from the wise men of 
this world, even on the Continent. No ; the great 
principles maintained by this church are not those 
of a narrow Puritanism, a political agitation, a desire 
of subjecting the state to the church, or the in- 
trigues of an ambitious clergy. Scotland has re- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 209 

ceived a vocation from God, and this vocation she 
is fulfilling. The principles she maintains rest 
upon the most venerable statutes, the most ancient 
laws of this nation ; nay, upon the Word of God 
itself. These principles are the right, the strength, 
the glory of Scotland. They pervade her whole 
history, the struggles of her fathers, the con- 
stitutions of her people, the scaffolds of her mar- 
tyrs, her revolutions, her restorations, and all 
the great events in which her annals abound. 
They run through them like a reviving stream, 
whose waters carry in all directions fertility and 
life. " This controversy," says Gillespie, " rises to 
" the heavens, and its summit is above the clouds." 

Now, the English government having determined 
to interfere in the spiritual matters of the church, 
as we shall see, by means of the courts of law and 
the parliament; the Evangelical paKy of the 
Church of Scotland, by virtue of the very princi- 
ples we have just laid down, has severed the 
bonds which unite the church to the state, and 
declared her independence. 

It is now necessary to specify, in a more precise 
manner, the points which have brought about the 
rupture. In fact, it is not, properly speaking, the 
abstract doctrine of the kingship of Christ, but upon 
the application of that doctrine, that the difference 
turns. These are the two points which have been 
debated, and resolved in opposite ways. 

The first point was that of non-intrusion. You 
are aware, that by intrusion is understood the act 

p 



210 TKAVELLING KECOLLECTIONS. 

of introducing a presentee by force or by strata- 
gem, against right and form, into any cure of the 
church. By non-intrusion the Free Church of 
Scotland understands the right of a church, or of a 
parish, to refuse the minister who is presented to it, 
so that he may not be imposed upon them against 
their consent, even when the higher ecclesiastical 
authorities do not concur in their objections. This 
is an important point in the ecclesiastical constitu- 
tion of Scotland ; yet it is not the one of which 
the Free Church has been the most tenacious. 
They might even have come to some compromise 
on this head ; but the next principle is, in their 
eyes, of the utmost importance, and it is impos- 
sible on that subject to yield in the slightest 
degree. 

This latter principle is, that of Spiritual Inde- 
pendence; that is to say, independence in all the 
spiritual concerns of the church, subject to Christ 
and his Word alone ; and most particularly, the 
right which the church alone has of inducting and 
depriving her own ministers, without any civil 
court, any political authority, even the highest, 
having any claim to command in these respects. 
Herein lies the knot of the matter. 

The real and exclusive kingship of Jesus Christ, 
by virtue of which the church is independent of 
any earthly king or magistrate, is the theorem, 
the Palladium, as it were, of the Church of Scot- 
land. 

The non-intrusion of ministers, and the spiritual 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 211 

independence of the church, are the two corol- 
laries of that theorem, for the sake of which the 
Scottish church has in our own day fought so me- 
morable a "battle. 

The first of these principles, non-intrusion of 
ministers, as the Free Church understands it, is 
not, perhaps, a strict consequence of the sole king- 
ship of Christ. This non-intrusion is founded, 
doubtless, upon the rights of the Church of Scot- 
land, both in the letter and the spirit ; but if the 
refusal of a parish to receive any minister is to be 
submitted, not to a civil court, but to an ecclesi- 
astical assembly, to a presbytery, for instance, or 
to a synod, the kingship of Christ, as the Church 
of Scotland understands it, is in no way affected. 
Therefore, if it were only for the sake of non-intru- 
sion that the separation took place, we might un- 
derstand how opinions might be divided. It has 
been said in Switzerland, that the Scottish disrup- 
tion was effected, not for the sake of the headship 
of Christ, but for that of the people. This shows 
a complete ignorance of facts. 

The essential cause of the disruption was the 
duty of maintaining the spiritual independence of 
the church, of preventing the civil power from 
deciding in religious matters ; and that duty is one 
which most incontrovertibly flows from the con- 
stitution of that church and from the tenet of the 
kingship of Christ, which she has been commis- 
sioned from God to declare openly in the church. 

p 2 



212 



TRAVELLING EECOLLECTIONS. 



The Church of Scotland cannot yield this point 
without proving unfaithful to her calling, without 
sacrificing the very principle of her existence. 



VI. 



A COMPARISON. 



Having been called upon to make you acquainted 
with the system of the Church of Scotland, it will 
be advantageous to compare it with the system well 
known among ourselves, — that of the separation 
of church and state. 

These two systems have one great point of re- 
semblance ; that is, they both aim at the inde- 
pendence of the church. Yet if we examine the 
matter more closely, we shall find between them 
some remarkable differences which it is worth while 
to point out. 

The Scottish system is complete. It lays down 
principles, and deduces consequences ; it is, in fact, 
an entire ecclesiastical system. The theory of the 
separation of church and state (which is a different 
thing from Yoluntaryism), cannot be called a 
system ; it is defective as to the first principles of 
church government, and, in fact, does not pretend 
to define them. It is a certain number of consider- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 213 

ations, some metaphysical, some historical, or of 
some other nature besides, which may be powerful, 
but which do not form a perfect whole like the 
Scottish system. 

The latter system is essentially positive, while 
that of the separation of church and state stands 
forth as being essentially negative, and consequently 
less powerful ; I will even add, less pious and less 
Christian. The positive question is of more im- 
portance than the negative ; although, in our opi- 
nion at least, one includes the other. 

The first thing is, that the church should attach 
itself to Jesus Christ, and fully recognise his sove- 
reign kingship. This is the positive. The next 
thing would be, that the church should maintain 
her own independence with respect to earthly 
governments, and detach herself from them in all 
spiritual concerns. But what would be gained if 
the church were detached from the state, without 
the kingship of Jesus Christ being recognised in 
the church ? "What would happen to a church 
which has neither a head upon earth, nor a head in 
heaven ? Doubtless, — and we may thank God for 
this, — a great number of those who maintain the 
principles of separation are Christians, and it is this 
which counteracts the evils. But there are also 
some, and these too very eminent men, especially in 
England, who are Unitarians and Deists ; and in 
that case, what is to become of a church with the 
mere idea of separation ? She would end by making 
herself both head and God ! 

p 3 



214 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

The Church of Scotland is not, above all things, 
separatist ; she is unionist in the most spiritual 
and sublime sense. Her great aim is, for the 
church to unite herself to her divine Head, Jesus 
Christ. She demands that this King should reign, 
not only in the hearts of humble believers, or of 
ministers ; but also in the hearts of kings, and of 
all who are placed in power. She makes no sepa- 
ration between the kingdom of Jesus Christ and 
the rulers of the nations. 

And such is also my own feeling. God forbid 
that I should stand before any man whatsoever, 
whether he speaks in our own Diets, or sits on the 
throne of St. James, or on that of the Tuileries, 
without proclaiming, " Worship the Son and submit 
" to His Word!" But I do not stop there, as I 
shall proceed to show. 

I have to make a third observation. In the 
ordinary system of separation between church and 
state, it is exclusively, in my opinion, a question of 
discipline, or of ecclesiastical constitution founded 
on reasoning, with which we have to deal. But, in 
the system of the Church of Scotland, we are con- 
cerned with a doctrinal question based upon the 
Word of God; not with a merely secondary doctrine, 
but a leading dogma, acknowledged as such by all. 
In effect, the Mediator, Jesus Christ, fills three offices 
in the church, — he is Prophet, Priest, and King; 
this we have all learnt in our Catechism, and, what 
is still better, in our Bible. Christianity is com- 
prised in these three points ; and whenever we de- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 215 

prive Christ in any manner of one of these offices, 
we reject the Lord of Glory or tread Him under foot, 
and Christianity is shorn of its proportions, or, in 
other words, destroyed. Now, these offices of the 
Mediator have always been attacked in diverse 
ways. 

Whenever, instead of the teaching of his Word 
and of his Holy Spirit, we substitute that of human 
reason, of the Fathers of the church, or of the 
Popes, Christ is denied as a Prophet. Whenever, 
for the sacrifice of his body and blood, by which 
he has once redeemed his people, we substitute 
certain penances, the mass, or the doctrine of sal- 
vation by works or by good intentions, Christ is 
denied as a Priest. 

Think you, then, that it is not possible to ac- 
knowledge or to deny Christ as a King ? 

It is this denial of Christ as a King which is 
renounced by the Church of Scotland. With her, 
Christ is the King of the church, as well as her 
Prophet or her Priest ; this is all. But, it is to be 
observed, he is not the King merely of an invisible 
impalpable church, which is nowhere to be found. 
When Christ founded the church, he did so indeed 
in the first instance as spiritual and invisible ; but 
immediately afterwards as visible and external, 
for he introduced the sacraments. Now, are not 
the sacraments visible ? He established the ministry, 
and are not the ministers visible ? The visible 
cannot be separated from the invisible church ; it 
is one and the same church, and it is of the 

p 4 



216 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

church in both these relations that Christ is the 
King. 

For our own part, we worship the kingship of 
Christ as we worship his prophetical and his priestly 
character. We believe that this sacred, too much 
forgotten kingship, ought to be reinstated in the 
church ; and we think that Scotland has received 
from God a call to this effect. 

But in so doing, there is an excess which we 
must point out. To make all the institutions of 
the visible church flow directly from the kingship 
of Christ ; to believe that Presbyterianism, with all 
its forms, is alone of divine institution, is, in my 
opinion, to fall into a dangerous error. Revelation 
was given to us for the purpose of proclaiming the 
great truths of salvation, and of imparting a new 
life. To convert Revelation into an ecclesiastical 
rule is to lower it considerably. It is to forget 
the essential nature of Christianity, and make of it 
a mere system more or less similar to Judaism, 
which consisted in ordinances.* (Ephes. ii. 15.) No ; 
Christ " hath broken down the middle wall of par- 
" tition:" let us beware of rebuilding it. I prefer 
the Presbyterian government to all others, I even 
think it most conformable to the Bible; but I will 
never consent to condemn the Episcopalians as 
Episcopalians, nor the Congregationalists as Con- 
gregationalists. Let us entirely abandon bigotry, 
of what nature and species soever. The apostle St. 

* NoflOP Tb)V EVT0\u)V. 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 217 

John does not say. "If any bring not this church 
"government, receive him not;" but he says, "If 
" any bring not this doctrine" Most Scotchmen 
think as I do ; of this I am assured. The farther 
Scotland removes a sectarian spirit from her, the 
more also will she become fair, strong, useful, and 
pleasing, in the sight of God and of the people of 
God. Let us be enthusiastic in the cause of Jesus 
Christ, he is worth it all ; but not for the sake of 
our own sect and our own constitution. 

I have to make a fourth remark. The Scottish 
system is more powerful : it draws on the people 
of God with greater force. In fact, considerations 
more or less metaphysical are not within the reach 
of every body, and do not convince them. Take 
one of the finest productions of the human mind of 
late years, the work upon ,: The Manifestation of 
" Religious Convictions*;" and, even among those 
who have understood it. there are a great many 
unconvinced by it. But put the question as it is 
put in Scotland: — "Will you in things spiritual 
•■ oi T e all obedience to Jesus Christ vour Kino--, or 
" will you give a part of it to the President of the 
" Council of State, or to the Eight Honourable the 
;; First Lord of the Treasury?" This is the ques- 
tion, and there is no Christian conscience that can 
hesitate. It has been seen that durino- two centuries 
this simple question induced the meanest among 
the people of God in Scotland to ascend the scaffold. 

* By the late Dr. Yinet. 



218 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

A man will lay down his life for the sake of Christ, 
but he will not lay it down so easily for a mere 
argument. This system has very lately bestowed 
freedom upon two churches, — those of Scotland 
and of Vaud. I know of no similar effect produced 
by the separationist system. 

I remember the powerful sensation which, at 
a Christian Union meeting at Edinburgh, Dr. 
Candlish produced by a speech which I have un- 
fortunately been unable to find very correctly 
reported. " Gentlemen," said he, " in a nation 
4 there are many conflicting opinions, many different 
' parties, and these factions are ranged against 
4 each other in the parliament and among the 
' people ; but if the king — if his crown be at- 
4 tacked by a foreign power, all divisions cease, all 
4 factions are silent, all hands are stretched out 
4 to preserve the crown and maintain its inde- 
4 pendence. Thus," added the orator, " thus it is 
4 with the church. There are many different 
4 opinions, sects, and parties ; but if a foreign 
4 power touches the honour of our Divine King, — 
4 all divisions cease, all sects unite, all hearts join 
4 in one, and all hands are raised together to sup- 
4 port His crown." 

I can only compare the energy of the speaker to 
the tumult of applause with which these words 
were received. 

Let us now observe a last difference in the 
degree of separation which the two theories assert 
between church and state. If the state is opposed 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 219 

to the church, then, according to both systems, 
the separation should be complete ; but if the rulers 
of the state are animated by Christian feelings, 
and remain within their own sphere, in that case 
the separation will still exist as to all things 
spiritual, though it will be wanting in the Scottish 
system, in an external and temporal point of view. 
Is the Scottish system right ? This brings me 
back to Scotland and her history. 



VII. 

A KEQUISITE OF UNION. 

There is no history in which the incessant 
struggle between the church and the state is so 
strongly marked as in that of Scotland. The 
powerful vitality of the church is the cause of this. 
A church might exist, as, for instance, in the can- 
ton of Vaud, where the church lay for three cen- 
turies bound bv the state without a struggle, at 
least without any considerable one, for the very 
simple reason that there was but little life within 
her. A living body may well hold down a corpse 
and find no resistance ; but when once the corpse 
is restored to life, the struggle will begin anew. 

The state everywhere would be the master; it 
would be so in the different phases of the life of 



220 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

nations, whether in matters of industry, of instruc- 
tion, or of war ; but it would be so especially in 
matters of religion, because religion has great 
influence over the people. Now, this is precisely 
the sphere which is to be withheld from the grasp 
of the state. " The power of the state ends where 
" that of conscience begins." 

The history of Scotland is that of the struggle 
between the state and the church. Scarcely does 
the church come into existence, when the state 
begins to make war upon her. Combats to the 
death, or else deep slumber, — behold, in two 
words, the history of the Scottish Church. One of 
these phases succeeds the other, and the slumber is 
no sooner broken than the combat is renewed. 

It is to this duel, continued for three centuries, 
that we wish to recall your attention. But you 
must observe, that while the church stands alone in 
the conflict — alone with her Divine Head — the 
state in Scotland has always an auxiliary. 

That auxiliary changes at different periods of 
the struggle. 

In the sixteenth century the auxiliary of the 
state against the Church of Scotland was Popery. 

In the seventeenth century it was Prelacy (not 
evangelical episcopacy, but the half-popish prelacy 
of Laud). 

In the eighteenth century, and at the beginning 
of the nineteenth, it was Patronage ; that is to say, 
the right of the landlords, of the crown, or of the 
councils, to appoint the ministers of the churches. 






THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 221 

Hence proceeded : — 

During the sixteenth century, a struggle hateful 
and perfidious ; 

During the seventeenth century, a struggle 
violent and cruel ; 

During the eighteenth century, a struggle ener- 
vating and deadening. 

And observe, that the state, vanquished each 
time by the church in her unjust aggressions, and 
obliged to sacrifice her auxiliary, has always taken 
another less odious in its stead. 

The prelacy of the seventeenth century is better 
than the popery of the sixteenth; and the patronage 
of the eighteenth century is better than the prelacy 
of the seventeenth. 

It may be thought that the conflict between the 
state and the church is ended in Scotland. The 
church has found the true way of enjoying at once 
liberty and peace. She has restored to the state 
the property and the privileges she had received 
from it, and has wrapped herself in the mantle 
of poverty. 

Were this struggle to be renewed, the state 
would apply to another auxiliary — an auxiliary 
better than patronage ; that is, the establishment, 
or moderatism. 

The only chance for the renewal of the conflict 
in Scotland would be, that the Established Church 
should gather up the remains of life and indepen- 
dence. It is probable, that with the Free Church 
before them, the State and the Establishment will 



222 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

long remain agreed. But if there should be in 
the Establishment, as I trust there will, a return 
to the first principles of the Church of Scotland, 
the struggle would, doubtless, terminate in a new 
disruption, which might, perhaps, unite into one 
church all the congregations of North Britain. 

I intend to take a rapid survey of the three great 
periods of the conflict between the church and the 
state in Scotland : — 

1. The period of Anti-popery, from the com- 
mencement of the church till the year 1600. 

2. The period of Anti-prelacy, from 1600 to the 
beginning of the eighteenth century. 

3. The period of Anti-patronage, from the be- 
ginning of the eighteenth century to 1843. 

But for the present, with these facts before our 
eyes, I return to the question I first stated. 

Is not the Church of Scotland mistaken in think- 
ing that there may be a certain combination be- 
tween the church and the state ? 

I answer, that, in the abstract, and in principle 
she is not. The obedience which the Christian 
owes to Jesus Christ, as the only King of the 
church, is opposed to the Christian's recognising 
any jurisdiction of the state in spiritual matters ; 
but it does not prevent the state from uniting with 
the church in certain external and temporal rela- 
tions. Conscience forbids our rendering to the 
state what belongs only to the Lord, but it forbids 
no more. The American Church, though quite 
independent of the state, still maintains some rela- 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 223 

tions with it. The state, for instance, proclaims 
a fast-clay, and the church observes it. 

But with regard to expediency and to possibility, 
that is another matter. I do not think that such 
relations can become intimate or influential without 
danger. A salary, for instance, paid by the state 
to the church, besides having other inconveniences, 
gives the state a hold upon the church, and com- 
promises the latter. 

A church jealous of maintaining the preroga- 
tive of the Lord, and which would withstand the 
state as soon as it made the least encroachment 
upon her, must always be in opposition, and in 
conflict with the state. Of this the history of the 
Church of Scotland is a proof. 

Should it, then, be the aim of these two great 
associations, the state and the church, to hate and 
wage incessant war upon each other ? Are these 
two powers, which both proceed from God, which 
are both placed by him above the nations, to 
diffuse inestimable benefits among them, set up 
merely as two champions, two gladiators, to fence 
incessantly together, and aim at each other's lives ? 

I am too desirous of a real and cordial union be- 
tween the civil and the religious body, not to wish 
those ties to be severed, those complications un- 
ravelled, which, hitherto, have never ceased to 
make them rivals and enemies. In my opinion, the 
greatest argument against such union is its im- 
possibility, — its incompatibility with the peace, the 



224 TEAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

liberty, the vitality, and the prosperity both of the 
state and of the church. 

I ask not, therefore, the suppression of a union, 
but of a discord. I am tenacious of establishing 
this fact. 

It is no question now, of a discord which existed 
in past ages, in the times of Henry of Germany, 
of Gregory VII. , of Philip Augustus, of Boni- 
face VIII., of Frederick Barbarossa, of Gregory IX., 
or of Innocent III. No ; our business is with a 
deplorable discord and struggle which exists in 
our own day, which is vigorously recommencing in 
France (see the late " pastoral letters" for exam- 
ple), in Germany, in England, and even in our 
own Switzerland, once deluged in blood by the 
questions of the convents and the Jesuits, and 
destined, perhaps, to be so again. I say nothing of 
the Canton de Vaud; of the struggle even now 
sustained there by a few noble witnesses for the 
kingship of Jesus Christ ; of the conflict in which 
the power of faith is opposed by the power of the 
bludgeon ; of that battle which is going on at our 
own doors, which is felt even in our own homes, and 
which speaks with a voice from which some useful 
lesson might surely be learnt. 

Yes ; I accuse those governmental systems which 
would, at any price, keep up these complications, 
these invasions, these subjections. I accuse them 
as enemies of a cordial and healthful union between 
the church and the state. I accuse them of being 
the instigators of troubles and conflicts between 



THE SCOTTISH QUESTION. 225 

the two bodies. I accuse them as being calculated 
to perpetuate among the nations the causes of their 
desolation and their ruin ; and it is in the name of 
this very principle of union which they assert, 
while they pervert its nature, that I condemn 
them. 

May the Free Church of Scotland maintain that 
ancient and grand principle, by virtue of which the 
kindly influence of Christianity is to penetrate not 
only into individuals, but into families ; not only 
into families, but into the most extensive societies, 
and most especially into the great body of the 
nation. May the Church of Scotland maintain, 
that there is upon earth, neither individual nor 
society in behalf of which she is not to offer up 
this prayer, " Thy kingdom come." May she re- 
ject with alarm, as we ourselves do, the saying of 
a celebrated French Koman Catholic politician ; 
" The state is Atheist " (a saying which, I am 
aware, has been explained, but which nevertheless 
has been perniciously invented). May the Church 
of Scotland never cease to repeat before the whole 
world, that she will not have a state without God ; 
but let her at the same time acknowledge with 
thankfulness what God has done for her, and glory 
in her perfect freedom. 

I conclude by observing that, while the Scottish 
system builds its theories upon a solid scriptural 
basis, a powerful principle, which is too much 
neglected by separatism ; the latter developes the 
Scottish system in a very important application. 

Q 



226 TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS. 

They are, or at least ought to be, two friendly 
systems, each the complement of the other. 

Allow me, in conclusion, to make a strange sup- 
position. Should a madman, in order to estab- 
lish a greater union in our solar system, propose 
connecting the earth, the moon, and the sun toge- 
ther by some monstrous chain, what, I ask, would 
be the result ; but that such a bond would prevent 
the free motion of these bodies, would draw our 
system into unheard of disorder, and plunge us 
into a fearful cataclysm, into the darkness and 
desolation of chaos ? 

Far better is that liberty which God has given 
them, — a liberty which allows of the free circula- 
tion of light, heat, and life ! Not only in Scot- 
land, therefore, but throughout the world, may 
the church become free, and avail herself betimes 
of the advantages of that freedom to cause all 
nations, and consequently all states, to rejoice in 
the light of the Sun of Kighteousness ! 



PART II. 

HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



Q 2 



PAET II. 
HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



CHAP. V. 

SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 
Sixteenth Century. — Popery. 

1. Travellers. History and its Lessons. Two Men at Ge- 
neva. The Vocation of Scotland. Return of Knox. St. 
Andrews. Triumph of the Reformation. The Church Free 
— 2. First Book of Discipline. Election of Pastors. Mary- 
Stuart. Opposition. League of Bayonne. The Holyrood 
Murder. — 3. The Church established. Spiritual Indepen- 
dence of the Church. Death of the Good Regent. Tulchan 
Bishops. Saying of Erskine of Dun. — 4. The Book of 
Policy. James, Lennox, and Arran. Archbishop Mont- 
gomery. Act against Civil Admission. Protest of the As- 
sembly. Melville before the King. James yields. — 5. The 
Black Acts. Protest. Protestant Reaction. Presbyterian 
Speech of the King. Ecclesiastical Charter of 1592. — 6. New 
Reaction. Deputation to the King. Andrew Melville. Dan- 
gers. Strength and Courage. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Last year I related some passages of my travels 
in Germany, England, and Scotland. I have been 
asked whether I have nothing more to tell ; whe- 
ther my store is exhausted. I have found yet a 

Q 3 



230 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

few fragments, which I have brought together, and 
now proceed to lay them before you. 

To explain the nature of these fragments, I 
must confess to a foible of my own. 

A number of travellers journey through the 
same country, and yet each one sees different 
things. The artist brings home his portfolio full 
of sketches of rustic cottages, bubbling cascades, 
delightful views of lakes, smiling valleys, and proud 
mountain tops. The architect does not leave un- 
noticed one gothic church, one elegant mansion, 
or even a single colonnade or capital. The states- 
man studies the institutions, the senates, the 
prerogative, the working and the balance of power. 
The pedagogue visits every school, converses with 
every schoolmaster, inquires into their methods, 
and the results they produce ; and so on. 

As for me, I delight in going back into past 
ages, and, as I contemplate what I meet with in the 
places I visit, to seek out what happened there 
in times gone by. I inquire into the historical 
reminiscences. I cannot look upon a field of battle, 
without marshalling armies upon it ; on an ancient 
house, without bringing back its inhabitants ; on 
a church, without placing in the pulpit the illus- 
trious man who has preached there, and in the 
nave, the audience he was wont to animate with 
his words. I cannot pass through a cemetery 
without calling up its dead. 

In consequence of this, the fragments I shall 
now lay before you are historical. As I travelled 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 231 

through Scotland, for to this country I confine 
myself for the present, I re-peopled it with its 
former inhabitants. Therefore, after having told 
you of my friends of the present day, I have only 
to speak of my friends of one, two, and three 
centuries ago. 

The contemporary history of a people is contained 
in the history of its early times. The present lies 
every where within the past, as the ear within the 
grain of wheat, and the bird within the egg,, 
Therefore, in thus carrying you with me over the 
fair country of Scotland, I intend, indeed, like a 
necromancer, to call up the spirits of the departed ; 
yet I am performing an actual work, and explain- 
ing the obscurities of the present by the lights of 
the past. 

Every one acknowledges the utility of historical 
lessons ; yet we must make a selection from them, 
since there are some which are suited to one time, 
though not to another. If there is one feature 
especially characteristic of our own age, it is the 
studies of thinking men upon the relations which 
should exist between those two great societies, the 
political and the religious. If there is one appeal 
now specially addressed to the Christian man, 
amidst all these conflicts, all these falls, and all 
these transformations of power, it is, doubtless, the 
call to remain immovably faithful to the Invisible 
and Immortal King. If the kingdoms and the 
republics of this world are shaking and falling, so 
that fearful men are ready to flee lest they should 

Q 4 



232 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

be crushed among their ruins; the Scripture de- 
clares that there is one state, one " kingdom 
" that cannot be moved," and in which the exiles 
must take refuge.* Now, if there is any history 
fertile in lessons on this important subject, on the 
steadfastness, the vitality of the church, it is that 
of Scotland since the Reformation. I have torn 
from the book of ages, the leaf on which was in- 
scribed those ancient times so pregnant in lessons 
for our own ; and this is, perhaps, the most im- 
portant of the remembrances I have preserved of 
my journey. Allow me to exhibit it ; to read to 
you this page so full of struggles and of sufferings, 
yet of triumph and of faith also. 

Nearly three centuries ago, in the old streets 
of our old city, in the Rue des Chanoines, in the 
Bourg de Four, upon this very hill where we are 
now met, and near these three towers of St. Peter 
which rise steeple-less beside us, two men might 
have been seen walking together, — men of serious 
and venerable demeanour, ' with deep and piercing 
glance, — men of conflict and of prayer. One of 
these was John Calvin, the other John Knox. The 
latter had been, for two years, the pastor of those 
English and Scotch whom persecution had driven 
to seek refuge in our hospitable city. He came in 
1556, with his wife and her mother, then a widow, 
and there two sons were born to him. In the 



* This was spoken shortly after the revolution of Geneva, in 
October 1846. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 233 

conversations they held together, the doctor of 
Geneva and the doctor of Scotland mutually 
enlightened each other ; examined the Bible to 
discover the condition of the ancient church ; 
grieved that the ecclesiastical government of the 
early times had been entirely subverted by the 
tyranny of the Papacy ; re-established the chief 
heads of that Presbyterian constitution of which, 
during the sixteenth century, they were the two 
great representatives; and thus formed, on the 
shores of our lake, the bonds of that brotherhood 
which will for ever unite Scotland and Geneva. 

Knox having learnt, in 1559, the extremity to 
which his brethren of Scotland were reduced, and 
having received letters, by express, inviting him to 
return to his own country, he resolved to repair 
thither, and devote his life to the cause of the 
Gospel and of the Reformation. He left Geneva, 
where he had enjoyed all the calm delights of a 
Christian life ; he left Calvin, whom he had so 
well understood. He turned from our snow- 
topped mountains, and from our free and happy 
city, traversed France, embarked at Dieppe, and 
being prevented from passing through England, 
landed at Leith, near Edinburgh, on the 2d of 
May, 1559. 

But it was not only what he had brought from 
Geneva, that Knox was to realise in. Scotland ; 
Knox and Scotland were to perform a task, which 
was not given (in the same degree at least) to 
Calvin and Geneva. 



234 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

The independence of the church, which Christ 
has redeemed with his most precious blood, and 
which belongs to Him alone, and not to earthly 
rulers, — is the treasure which was to be entrusted 
to the regenerated men among the descendants of 
the Picts and Scots. One circumstance contri- 
buted to this special vocation: it was, that no 
where, unless in France, did the government show 
itself so hostile to evangelical doctrine and dis- 
cipline as in Scotland, If Scotland so energetically 
resisted all state interference, it was not only for 
the sake of maintaining a few ecclesiastical forms ; 
but because through these forms, the state was 
endeavouring to reach and to destroy the doctrine 
and the very life of the church. Scotland is a 
small country; not so is the struggle she has had 
to wage during the last three centuries, and it well 
deserves the interest of all who are convinced that 
those whom Christ has redeemed should for ever 
be free. 

At the time of Knox's arrival in Edinburgh, a 
number of the evangelical ministers of Scotland 
had been summoned before the Justiciary Court, 
and in eight days they were to take their trial for 
having taught heresy, and excited tumults among 
the people. Their enemies, preparing a treacherous 
scheme to get rid of them by death, had met for 
several days in the monastery of the Greyfriars 
at Edinburgh ; when, on the morning of the 3rd 
of May, while the priests were maturing their plots, 
a monk, who had probably been begging about the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 235 

town, rushed into the monastery, and running 
breathless and pale with terror into the room where 
the clergy were assembled, exclaimed, " John 
" Knox ! John Knox is come ! He is here ! He 
" slept last night in Edinburgh I" If a thunder- 
bolt had fallen in the midst of them, the priests 
could not have felt more alarm. They rose hastily, 
left the hall and the convent ; and dispersed, some 
one way, some another, in the greatest confusion 
and dismay. 

Such was the effect produced by the arrival in 
Scotland of the refugee from Geneva. He lost no 
time, and his preaching quickly excited every 
mind. His friends for his sake feared the effects of 
his courage. " As for the fear of danger that may 
" come to me," said he to them, " let no man be 
" solicitous ; for my life is in the custody of Him 
" whose glory I seek. I desire the hand or weapon 
" of no man to defend me." With such sentiments, 
Knox determined to remain in St. Andrews, the 
see of the primate, the Scottish Kome, for he knew 
that it was at the centre of an army that the 
strongest blows should be dealt. On the 16th of 
June, 1559, he ascended the pulpit, and preached 
before a numerous auditory; among which were 
many of the clergy, and of the armed retainers of 
the bishop, who had been prepared to take the 
Reformer's life. 

St. Andrews ! How many reminiscences were 
recalled to me by this antique city, with its vener- 
able towers and its numerous steeples ! Residing, 



236 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

during my visit to this town, in the house of Sir 
David Brewster, one of the most eminent scientific 
men of Scotland, I was so fortunate as to have 
Dr. Hetherington, the historian of the Scottish 
Church, for my guide among its antiquities. With 
what interest did I survey alternately the magnifi- 
cent ruins of that cathedral, the work of many 
centuries, which one word from Knox brought 
down in a single day ; then, at no great distance, 
upon those enormous perpendicular rocks, at whose 
foot the waves dash incessantly, the picturesque 
remains of the castle, whose ancient walls now 
serve as a landmark to the mariner; and then, 
again, those squares where the martyrs shed their 
blood at the period of the Reformation, and in one 
of which now stands a temple of the Free Church, 
on the very spot where three centuries ago a scaf- 
fold was erected. How many spirits could I call 
up, as I walked among these ruins ! 

Previous to the powerful preaching of Knox, the 
bishop of St. Andrews fled in alarm to Edinburgh, 
to the Queen Regent, to inform her of the triumph 
of the Reformation. That princess immediately 
sent an army against the Lords and the People of 
the Congregation, who then determined upon resist- 
ance. These courageous Scots, animated with the 
love of Christ, successively entered Perth, Stir- 
ling, and Edinburgh. The Romish worship was 
soon abolished over almost the whole of Scotland ; 
and in July, 1560, a treaty between Mary Stuart, 
Queen of Scotland (the Regent being now dead), 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 237 

and Elizabeth, Queen of England, stipulated an 
amnesty, and an early convocation of the Parlia- 
ment. This Parliament, which met in August, ac- 
cepted the Confession of Faith, drawn up by Knox 
and his friends, and definitively abolished the Papal 
jurisdiction, without however bestowing upon the 
new church the yoke of the state. Thus, the 
first fact we meet with in this history is this : — the 
church began in Scotland, by lying under the cross 
and receiving from the political powers nothing but 
persecution. In 1560 she became, in a manner, 
national, yet she remained free; and it was only 
seven years later, that she was erected into a State 
Church, and became, what is called in Britain, an 
Establishment. 



II. 



A CHURCH AND A QUEEN. 



Popery being thus abolished in Scotland, the 
Christian church proceeded to constitute itself, 
and, on the 20th December, 1560, the first General 
Assembly was held. It did not meet by the con- 
vocation of the Parliament- That important body 
in the state remained passive in regard to it, and 
did nothing either for or against it. It was the 
authority of the church itself, which was set forth 



238 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

alone by this Assembly. This first great synod 
had no other origin than the conscience of the 
evangelized people, than the convocation of Christ. 
This origin of the Church of Scotland is of great 
importance to enable us to comprehend the freedom 
which is her characteristic. 

Knox and his associates had already, as we have 
seen, drawn up a Confession of Faith ; the Assem- 
bly felt the necessity of having an ecclesiastical 
constitution, and entrusted the work to the same 
divines. Thus was produced the First Book of 
Discipline, which may be regarded as the earliest 
charter of the Church of Scotland ; and which, with- 
out being at that time ratified by the queen's 
council, there being as yet no religious establish- 
ment, was signed by most of the councillors of the 
crown, as members of the church. 

I do not mean to exhibit the Presbyterian system 
as settled by this charter. I will content myself 
with observing what concerns one of the principles 
which I have pointed out as essential to Scotland, 
— the liberty of the flocks with respect to the 
election of pastors. 

The First Book of Discipline, in the 2d section 
of the 4th chapter, says, — 

" It appertaineth to the people, and to every 
" several congregation, to elect their minister." In 
the 4th section : " Altogether this is to be avoided 
" that any man be violently intruded or thrust in 
" upon any congregation; but this liberty with all 
" care must be reserved to every several church 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 239 

u to have their votes and suffrages in the election 
" of ministers." 

Such are the primary rights of the Church of 
Scotland, beyond all ambiguity and all dispute. 
And if within our own times there have been con- 
flicts on this subject, we must seek for their source 
three centuries back. 

In 1565, Queen Mary Stuart, the niece of the 
Guises, that woman so celebrated for her beauty 
and her imprudent conduct, wishing to marry 
Darnley, attempted to draw closer to the General 
Assembly, which she was desirous of gaining over. 
But the queen soon showed that nothing was to be 
expected from her. She declared that she would 
remain constant to the Eomish faith, and yet main- 
tain within the Presbyterian church her claim of 
patronage ; that is to say, the privilege of appointing 
ministers to certain parishes. 

The General Assembly, not daring to resist these 
pretensions, replied, that the presentation in certain 
cases belonged to the patrons, but the definitive 
appointment belonged to the church ; because if the 
church had not the right of accepting or of refusing 
her ministers, the patrons might present whomso- 
ever they pleased without trial and without exami- 
nation. From that time many of the nobles op- 
posed the Reformation and the Book of Dis- 
cipline ; for order and freedom have met with adver- 
saries in all times and in all places. " This system," 
they exclaimed, " is but a devout imagination, a 
" dream, proceeding no doubt from good inten- 



240 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" tions, but impossible to realise." History has 
triumphantly answered these empty words. 

This opposition was soon manifested in a General 
Assembly, held in December, 1561. Several lords 
disputed the legality, or even the possibility of such 
convention, without the consent and good pleasure 
of the queen. But the independence of the church 
immediately found defenders. Knox, in answer to 
Maitland of Lethington, the Secretary of State, 
said, " Take from us the liberty of Assemblies, and 
" you take from us the Gospel !" This is a strong 
expression ; but Knox justified it by adding, "If the 
" liberty of the church must depend upon the 
" queen's allowance or disallowance, we shall want 
" not only Assemblies, but also the preaching of the 
" Gospel." 

Thus did Knox protest and assert that the church 
should be independent of the state, and dispense 
with its permission, because she would not submit 
to its denial. 

Such was the commencement of Presbyterianism 
in Scotland. Popery, abolished as a national wor- 
ship, remained only as the religion of the court, and 
evangelical Presbyterianism was freely, yet power- 
fully set up. Kome could not behold this state of 
things without anger, and every thing was soon 
prepared for a revolution. 

The Council of Trent had lately passed a decree 
for the extirpation of the Protestant faith ; and the 
Guises, the uncles of Mary Stuart, had invited 
their niece to join in the League of Bayonne, 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 241 

formed for that purpose. Mary hesitated not to do 
so. The excellent Earl of Murray, and most of the 
Protestant lords, had already been exiled. Mary 
went still farther ; she appointed a meeting of Par- 
liament, in which the Eomish prelates were to 
resume their places, and ordered popish altars to 
be set up in the Cathedral of Edinburgh. The 
restoration of Popery was about to be accomplished. 
It was arrested by the hand of God. 

At this time happened one of those remarkable 
events in which the Almighty permits the wicked 
to destroy each other, and thereby delivers the 
righteous. It is one of the scenes most vividly 
recalled to the recollection of strangers who visit 
Edinburgh ; and it is worthy of such notice, as vin- 
dicating in an awful manner the providence of God. 
While I was going through the ancient palace of 
Holyrood I went into the apartments of Mary 
Stuart : I entered her chamber, I stood before her 
bed ; I stopped in that famous and somewhat 
narrow closet, adjoining the queen's bed-chamber, 
in which was enacted one of the crimes of that 
age, perpetrated in the midst and in defiance of 
the sacred light of the Eeformation. I cannot 
avoid giving an account of my impressions as a 
traveller. 

I was at Holyrood. I placed myself three cen- 
turies back (9th March, 1566,) and pictured to 
myself what was then passing in that tragical 
cabinet. It is evening, the hour of supper; the 
queen is at table: beside her sits an Italian, her 

R 



242 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

private secretary, Rizzio by name, whom the popish 
princes of the Continent have chosen as the agent 
of their plots at Edinburgh, and who for some time 
has enjoyed the intimacy of the queen so closely as 
to excite the jealousy of Darnley, the prince on 
whom she had bestowed her hand. With the queen 
and Rizzio are also the Countess of Argyle, and one 
or two other persons. They are eating, drinking, 
conversing, jesting, laughing ; they think of nothing 
but pleasure. On a sudden, Darnley enters, the 
papist Darnley, and without saluting any one, darts 
at Rizzio a look of vengeance. Behind him stands 
Lord Ruthven, risen from a sick bed, with pale and 
ghastly features, and in the background appear 
armed men. Ruthven, in a hollow voice, orders 
Rizzio to quit a place of which he is unworthy: 
the Italian, in alarm, seizes the queen by the 
skirts of her garment, and implores her protection. 
Darnley forces him away, and at that moment 
George Douglas, pulling out the king's own dagger, 
strikes Rizzio with it. In an instant cries and 
tears succeed to laughter and to joy. The secre- 
tary is dragged away into the outer apartment, 
and, in spite of the queen's supplications, falls 
pierced with fifty-six wounds ; his blood flows in 
streams upon the floor. The marks of it are still 
visible; and for these 279 years, nothing, as the 
guides assert, has been able to efface the stains. I 
believe this fact possible. When the queen heard 
of his death, " Now," said she, " I will dry my 
tears, and think of revenge." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 243 

Thenceforward, indeed, revenge became her 
ruling passion, and she forgot the Presbyterians, to 
persecute her own husband and Rizzio's assassins. 
She perceived in Both well, a profligate noble of her 
court, an instrument fitted for her purpose, and 
within a year the king, her husband, was murdered 
by that miscreant. The queen married for the 
third time, and married the murderer of her hus- 
band. Then did the divine vengeance, — that 
vengeance which delays, but which surely comes, 
and of which Elizabeth became the great instru- 
ment, — begin to burst upon Mary Stuart. I will 
proceed no farther into that which concerns her. 
Eizzio, the envoy of the Guises, fell by the orders 
of the papist Darnley ; Darnley fell by the orders 
of the papist Mary Stuart ; Mary Stuart fell in her 
turn. " The wicked shall fall by his own wicked- 
" ness," saith the prophet (Prov. xi. 5.) ; and " the 
" Lord will destroy all the wicked." (Ps. cxlv. 20.) 
On the Continent, and especially in France, Mary 
Stuart has been perpetually lauded, and Knox 
insulted. It should be known what was the cha- 
racter of that queen, with whom the great reformer 
had to deal, and whose misdeeds he could some- 
times so courageously rebuke. Before the tribunal 
of the world, it is often enough to be beautiful 
to expiate great faults, but this is not sufficient 
before the tribunal of God. 



R 2 



244 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

III. 

THE TULCHANS. 

Mary Stuart had fallen. Immediately there 
took place throughout Scotland so decided a move- 
ment in favour of Presbyterianism, as to proceed, 
perhaps, beyond desirable limits. The excellent 
Earl of Murray, a zealous reformer, being recalled 
from exile, was placed as regent at the head of the 
government; the parliament met on the 15th of 
December, 1567 ; and it was then that the Reformed 
Church was recognised and established by the state, 
— a triumph similar to that of Christianity, when 
under Constantine the religion of the crucified One 
ascended the throne of the Caesars. Alas ! what 
worldliness and corruption did the church find on 
the throne of the emperors ! what anguish, what 
struggles, and what martyrdom did she find around 
the throne of the Stuarts ! 

Nevertheless, the church, founded in opposition 
to a tyrannical hierarchy and a hostile government, 
had assumed a character of liberty of which she 
could never be deprived. The Scottish people, 
ardently devoted to the Reformation, had joyfully 
embraced the principles of the Presbyterian insti- 
tution. Of simple manners, fond of civil liberty, 
full of affection for the things of God, this generous 
nation, while withstanding the claims of an ambi- 
tious clergy, had asserted their right of effect- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 245 

ing for themselves all that they judged to be 
needful. Ecclesiastical discipline prevented the in- 
conveniences that might have arisen from this par- 
ticipation of the people in the interests of Christi- 
anity, since those only who lived a Christian life 
were permitted to exercise it. Placed at a distance 
from the Continent, at a distance from Rome, the 
Scotch, by bestowing the ecclesiastical authority 
on a body composed of the ministers and elders of 
the church, believed, and believed rightly, that they 
were thus adhering to the most ancient Christian 
traditions, even of Scotland herself. 

But now that the state and the church are 
united (in 1567), will not the church in Scotland, 
as elsewhere, purchase the favour of the state by 
concession ? By no means. I will quote an in- 
stance of this. The seventh chapter of the Act 
of Parliament, in 1567, asserts in the most po- 
sitive manner the independence of the church: 
" It is ordained," it is there said, " that the exa- 
" mination and the admission of ministers shall be 
" only in the power of the kirk." This act adds, 
that " if the person presented by the patron is re- 
" fused, the patron may appeal to the synod ; and 
" that if the latter refuse likewise, the patron 
" may appeal to the General Assembly, by whom 
u the cause being decided, shall take an end as they 
" discern and declare" 

This fundamental law, therefore, establishes that 
when the supreme ecclesiastical authority has de- 
cided, the cause is concluded, so that no appeal can 

R 3 



246 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

be made from the General Assembly to any civil 
authority. The final judgment belongs to the ec- 
clesiastical authority. This law was one of the 
causes which, in 1843, brought about the founding 
of the Free Church. They were desirous, after 
three centuries, of remaining faithful to it. 

It is said, that the General Assembly cannot re- 
ject the presentee, except on the ground of certain 
faults. We must observe, that there is in the 
fundamental law no trace of any such restriction. 
Such distinction and complicated examinations 
were then unknown. It was the man — the minis- 
ter in his whole character, — that the ministers, 
the elders, and the flocks judged, admitted, or 
rejected. 

Thus, in 1567, the Keformed Church of Scotland, 
which had long before existed, was recognised, but 
not created by the state. It was no act of parlia- 
ment that brought her into existence : it was from 
a decree of the court of Heaven, from the will of 
the Head of the church, that she derived her life. 
She existed with her doctrine, with her discipline, 
with her constitution, and with her presbyteries, 
her synods, and her general assemblies, in greater 
completeness, perhaps, than any other church, when 
the state adopted her. Far from bringing her into 
existence, it had long sought to put her to death. 

However, the good regent Murray soon after fell 
by the hand of an assassin ; and immediately the 
state, notwithstanding her recent alliance, recom- 
menced her struggle with the church. This is 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES, 247 

already the fourth revolution since the abolition of 
Popery ; and it is a most ridiculous one. 

The Romish prelates who had been set aside, had 
retained two thirds of their revenues. Two thirds for 
doing nothing, — this was treating them very gener- 
ously ! Several of them having now died, it was 
asked, upon whom these two thirds should devolve? 
A custom, then common among the herdsmen of the 
Highlands, gave the idea, or at least the name, to the 
practice of which the new regent now availed him- 
self. T\ 7 hen the Highland herdsmen wished to have 
the milk of a cow, from which they had taken her 
calf, they set before her, if the creature was refrac- 
tory, a stuffed calf-skin, to which they managed to 
give some sort of living look, and which they called 
a Tulchan. The cow thus gave her milk apparently 
for the Tulchan, in reality for the herdsman. 

Morton, the new regent, did the same. Hamilton, 
the archbishop of St. Andrews, having died, Mor- 
ton himself took possession of the revenues of his 
see ; but as he, being a layman, could not touch the 
revenues of a church benefice, he made an arrange- 
ment with a clergyman, John Douglas, to whom he 
gave the title of archbishop, reserving the rents for 
himself, and this plan he soon undertook to apply to 
all the bishoprics of Scotland. " The bishop," says 
the historian Calderwood, "had the title, but my 
a lord got the milk." The prelates thus appointed, 
were thenceforward called by the name of Tulchan 
bishops. 

In this strange proceeding, it was the claim of 

R 4 



248 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

the civil power to appoint to an ecclesiastical func- 
tion which most displeased the church. Scotland 
was moved : all cried out against the encroachments 
of the civil power ; all felt that it was stretching 
forth its hand to trouble the pure and living waters 
which flow from the Rock. Erskine of Dun, a man 
of a pacific but firm temper, now addressed these 
words to the regent, which, clearly marking the 
distinctions existing between the ecclesiastical and 
the political power, strongly exhibit the essential 
character of the Church of Scotland : — " There is," 
says he to Morton, " a spiritual jurisdiction and 
i power, which God hath given unto his kirk and 
i to them that bear office therein; and there is a 
' temporal jurisdiction and power, given of God to 

• kings and civil magistrates. Both the powers 
- are of God, and most agreeing to the fortifying 
' one of the other, if they be right used. But when 

■ the corruption of man enters in, confounding the 
' offices, usurping to himself what he pleases, 

■ nothing regarding the good order appointed by 
4 God, then confusion follows in all estates. The 
' kirk of God should fortify all lawful power and 
4 authority that pertains to the civil magistrate, 

■ because it is the ordinance of God. But if he 
' pass the bounds of his office, and enter within 
' the sanctuary of the Lord, meddling with such 

• things as appertain to the ministers of God's kirk, 
' then the servants of God should withstand his 
1 unjust enterprise, for so they are commanded of 
' God." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 249 

Such, from the sixteenth century, have been the 
principles of the Church of Scotland. Not in vain 
have they been proclaimed, either at that time or in 
our own day. The church beheld a new deliverance 
arise. 



IV. 

THE COURTIERS AND A MINISTER OE GOD. 

In 1578, the regent Morton resigned his func- 
tions, and James Stuart, (James VI. of Scotland, 
and afterwards James I. of England,) the son of 
Mary Stuart and Darnley, and then only twelve 
years of age, took, or appeared to take, the reins 
of government into his own hands. This young 
king's accession to power was signalised b}^ a more 
complete development of Presbyterianism. The 
General Assembly gave its sanction to the " Se- 
" cond Book of Discipline," intended to complete 
the first, and called also " The Book of Policy," 
which has been regarded as the charter of the 
Church of Scotland. These are the principles 
established in this essential document : — 

" The policy of the kirk is an order or form of 
" spiritual government, which is exercised by the 
" members appointed thereto by the Word of God. 

" This power and policy ecclesiastical is different 



250 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" and distinct in its own nature from that power 
" and policy which is called the civil power. 

a For, this power ecclesiastical flows immediately 
" from God, and the Mediator Jesus Christ, and is 
" spiritual, not having a temporal head on earth, 
" but only Christ, the only Spiritual King and 
" Governor of his kirk." 

Such are the general principles of this Scottish 
charter. 

These are the special principles as to the election 
of pastors : — 

It is said in the third chapter, sections 4 and 5 : 
— " Election is the choosing out of a person or 
persons most able to the office that vaikes 
(becomes vacant) by the judgment of the 
eldership, and consent of the congregation. # * 
* * In the order of election, it is to be eschewed 
that a person be intruded in any of the offices of 
the kirk, contrary to the will of the congregation 
to whom they are appointed, or without the 
voice of the eldership." 

The twelfth chapter says : — " The liberty of the 
election of persons called to the ecclesiastical 
functions, and observed without interruption so 
long as the church was not corrupted by anti- 
christ, we desire to be restored and retained 
within this realm, so that none be intruded upon 
any congregation, either by the prince, or any 
inferior person, without lawful election, and the 
assent of the people over whom the person is 
placed." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 251 

The Church of Scotland went even farther than 
this, and finding herself unable to declare the 
abolition of patronage, expressed, at least, the wish 
of doing so : — 

" We desire ail them that truly fear God, 
" earnestly to consider that for sa meikle (foras- 
" much) as the names of patronages and benefices, 
" together with the effect thereof, have flowed 
" from the pope, and corruption of the canon law 
" only, in so far as thereby any person was 
" intruded or placed over kirks having curam 
11 animarum ; and for sa meikle as that manner of 
" proceeding has no ground in the Word of God, 
" but is contrary to the same, and to the said 
" liberty of election, they ought not now to have 
" place in this light of reformation." 

The Book of Policy having been sanctioned by 
the General Assembly, was presented to the king to 
receive his confirmation. This prince, or rather 
his court, demanded an amendment, says Calder- 
wood : he desired, that in the article against the 
intrusion of a minister, these words — - " contrary 
a to the will of the congregation," — should be 
erased, and the following substituted — "if the 
" people have a lawful cause against his life or 
" manners." The church rejected this amend- 
ment. She believed, doubtless, that there would 
always be persons ready to assert that the objec- 
tion was not valid, and that thus the liberties of 
the church would be reduced to nothing. The 
amendment desired, though not obtained, by 



252 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

James, very nearly resembles, in our opinion, 
that which was recently passed in Lord Aber- 
deen's bill. However this may be, the evangeli- 
cal party in the Church of Scotland has always 
regarded this amendment as a sort of back door, 
through which might be taken away what is ap- 
parently given in by the front one. The Book of 
Policy, up to the present day, must be signed by all 
ministers. The son of Mary Stuart did not posi- 
tively accept it ; but the act of 1592, by which the 
state recognised the church " as it then existed," 
thereby recognised the ordinances by which the 
church was constituted. Were Henry V., the 
grandson of Charles X., to declare that he acknow- 
ledged France " as she now exists," would he not 
mean that he acknowledged the charter by which 
she is governed ? Nay, more ; this very act of 
1592 quotes several passages of the " Second Book 
of " Discipline." This constitutional book of the 
Church of Scotland, drawn up in the sixteenth 
century (in 1578), was one of the causes which 
brought about the great disruption in the nine- 
teenth. There is, perhaps, no church which has 
preserved its homogeneity so completely as the 
Church of Scotland. 

The enemies of the church were not long in re- 
cognising each other. The young king had escaped 
from the guardianship of the aged Morton, only to 
fall under the influence of young nobles, still more 
dangerous than he. Surrounded, like Rehoboam, 
with favourites, who had been brought up with him, 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 253 

James was ready to say to his people, " My mother 
" hath chastised you with whips, I will chastise you 
" with scorpions." Great tribulation was preparing 
for the Church of Scotland. Esme Stuart, whom 
the king had created Duke of Lennox, and James 
Stuart, whom he made Earl of Arran, thencefor- 
ward governed that weak prince, and led him into 
evil by their advice, their example, their compliance, 
and their flattery. Lennox was a papist when he 
arrived in Scotland from France ; and, although he 
afterwards took the name of Protestant, no one 
trusted to his evangelical faith. Arran was a man 
of licentious character, whose craft and boldness no 
obstacle could arrest. What evils might not the 
pious men of Scotland apprehend from such a tri- 
umvirate! It was not long before the encroach- 
ments of despotism and disorder made their ap- 
pearance. 

The king had just ratified Craig's Confession of 
Faith, which became the first national covenant of 
Scotland, when Boyd, Archbishop of Glasgow, 
having died, the privy council granted to the Duke 
of Lennox, a disguised papist, the revenues of 
the archbishopric ; but as he was not able to draw 
them in his own name, he had recourse to a bishop 
of straw, according to the Tulchan system. 

In vain had the General Assembly, in 1578, 
abolished all these bishops. " True," said they, 
" the bishops, but not the archbishops!" Lennox 
found a minister of Stirling, named Eobert Mont- 
gomery, a weak, vain, and presumptuous man, 



254 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS, 

who consented to play the mean part of his Tul- 
chan ; and the king imposed this puppet of an arch- 
bishop upon the General Assembly. But that body 
contained men too friendly to liberty, and too in- 
imical to hierarchical abuses, not to protest against 
this simoniacal introduction of episcopacy. 

In 1582, the Assembly of the Church of Scotland 
having met at St. Andrews, and the government 
understanding what they were about to do, a mes- 
senger-at-arms entered the hall and forbade them, 
under pain of rebellion, to proceed against Montgo- 
mery. But after serious deliberation the Assembly 
declared, that " No man can pretend to ecclesiastical 
" functions, office, promotion, or benefice, by any 
" absolute gift, collation, or admission by the civil 
" magistrate or patron ;" and that Montgomery, by 
accepting an ecclesiastical function at the hands of 
the state, had incurred the double penalty of depo- 
sition and of excommunication. The act of 1582 
is still in force in the church. It is thought that 
in our times it has not been strictly observed.* 

Montgomery, in alarm, appeared before the As- 
sembly, acknowledged that he had offended God 
and His church, humbled himself before them, 
and promised to give up the archbishopric. But 
incited by Lennox, who wanted the milk of the 
cow, he soon after entered with a band of soldiers 
into the hall in which the Presbytery of Glas- 
gow had met, and presented an order from the 

* In the cases of Marnoch and Auchterarder. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 255 

king. The Presbytery refused to comply with this 
order, which they regarded as null in an eccle- 
siastical matter, and the moderator was dragged 
from his chair, insulted and beaten, and thrown 
into prison. Thus did the storm of persecution 
begin to rage in consequence of the interference 
of the civil power. 

The question was, whether the passions of men, 
their avarice and their ambition, ought to rule over 
the church in the place of Jesus Christ, His word, 
and His truth. The church stood firm. She attended 
to this saying, " Abhor that which is evil, cleave to 
" that which is good." The excommunication of 
Montgomery was intimated from the pulpits, and 
an Extraordinary Assembly having met, drew up 
an address to the king in these terms: — "Your 
" Majesty, by device of some counsellors, is caused 
" to take upon your Grace that spiritual power and 
" authority, which properly belongeth to Christ, as 
" only King and Head of his kirk. The ministry 
" and execution thereof is only given to such as 
" bear office in the ecclesiastical government of 
" the same. So that in your Grace's person some 
" men press to erect a new popedom, as though 
" your Majesty could not be free king and head of 
" this commonwealth, unless as well the spiritual 
" as the temporal sword be put in your Grace's 
" hand ; unless Christ be bereft of his authority, 
" and the two jurisdictions confounded which God 
" hath divided." 

It now remained to present this spirited address 



256 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

to the king. A deputation, at the head of which 
was that excellent minister Andrew Melville, re- 
paired to Perth, where the king was residing. The 
court was indignant at the boldness of the Assembly, 
the two favourites exclaimed loudly against it, and 
all were apprehensive that the ministers would 
expiate their audacity with their lives. " Beware," 
they were told, " beware of appearing before the 
" king." Melville replied, " I thank God, I am not 
" afraid, nor feeble spirited in the cause and message 
" of Christ. Come what God pleases to send, our 
" commission shall be discharged!" 

Accordingly, notwithstanding all solicitations 
and all menaces, the deputies on the following day 
proceeded to the palace. Did not their Heavenly 
Master say, " Ye shall be brought before governors 
" and kings for my sake, for a testimony against 
" them and the Gentiles. But take no thought 
" how or what ye shall speak : for it shall be given 
" you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 
" And fear not them which kill the body, but are 
" not able to kill the soul ; but rather fear Him who 
" is able to destroy both soul and body in helL" 

The deputies entered, and the king in council (he 
was then sixteen years of age) received them sitting 
on his throne, and surrounded with the splendour 
of his court. Melville went forward, and gravely 
read the remonstrance. But hardly had he finished, 
when the Earl of iirran, who was standing near the 
throne, frowning terribly on all around him, ex- 
claimed in a threatening voice, "Who dare sub- 
scribe these treasonable articles ? " 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 257 

" We dare," replied Melville calmly ; and then ad- 
vancing to the table which was before the king, he 
took a pen from the hand of the secretary of the 
council, and signed his name below the articles. The 
other deputies immediately followed his example. 
Every one was struck with wonder, and none dared 
to interrupt them, 

This Christian calmness laid the storm, f ' A 
" wise man will pacify wrath," saith the Scripture. 
Arran, overawed, was silent ; Lennox addressed 
some conciliatory words to the deputies ; the king 
yielded, Montgomery retired ; and the jurisdiction 
of the church, in regard to the calling and the de- 
privation of ministers, was thus sanctioned anew by 
this very transaction. In the same manner it was, 
in the question of the deposition or suspension of 
ministers, that the government interfered during 
the years preceding the formation of the Free 
Church. Does, then, the British government, one 
of the most enlightened, most truly liberal adminis- 
trations in political matters, believe itself able, in the 
present day, to achieve what an almost absolute 
king, surrounded by his favourites, dared not do in 
the sixteenth century? AYe do not answer this 
'question; we merely propose it. 

The spirited resistance of the church bore its 
fruits. Soon afterwards, a better administration came 
into power ; Lennox and Arran were removed from 
the king, and satisfaction was diffused throughout 
the kingdom. 



258 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



y. 



KING JAMES AND PRESBYTERIANISM. 

This did not last long. The young son of Mary 
Stuart recalled his flatterers ; and, in May 1584, 
he convened a parliament, which met with closed 
doors, and in which Montgomery sat as Archbishop 
of Glasgow ; and Adamson, a still baser character, 
as Archbishop of St. Andrews. These two prelates, 
leagued with the unworthy favourites of James, 
directed the most despotic measures. It was then 
that those acts were passed, famous in the history 
of Scotland, and known by the name of the Black 
Acts, which, as has been said in our own time, even 
by one of the heads of the moderate party, the 
Dean of Faculty, " annihilated the church, and left 
" her neither liberty nor independence." These 
acts decreed, that the king and his council were 
"judges competent in all matters;" that all judg- 
ment, spiritual or temporal, which had not been 
approved by the king and his parliament, should be 
of no force ; and that the bishops and ecclesiastical 
commissioners, appointed by the king, might rule 
in all that concerns the church. 

The Black Acts set up the state to rule over the 
church, and, under the state, set up the bishops, 
who were merely its servile agents ; while, on 
the contrary, the Second Book of Discipline, es- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 259 

tablished for its government General Assemblies, 
proceeding from the free choice of the Christian 
people. 

The struggle then began anew between the ser- 
vitude of the church and her freedom. 

At first, everything tended towards her servitude. 
The Black Acts were proclaimed at the market- 
cross of Edinburgh. In vain did a few minis- 
ters read at the same place, in presence of the 
people, a protest against a legislation which was a 
deathblow to the church : the will of the king, or 
rather that of Arran, prevailed, and more than 
twenty ministers were obliged to fly for safety into 
England. 

But a remedy was produced even by the excess 
of the evil. The papist princes of the Continent were 
then taking measures to re-establish the authority 
of the pope in Scotland. Philip of Spain sent his 
famous Armada to bring Great Britain again under 
the yoke of the Roman pontiff. It was more than 
suspected that the king's favourites had been cog- 
nisant of these perfidious designs. The Protestant 
spirit awoke with fresh energy ; there was a new 
movement, a reaction in a purely evangelical di- 
rection; and, on the 22d October, 1589, the king, 
setting out for Norway, where he was to marry the 
Princess Anne of Denmark, appointed Robert Bruce, 
one of the ministers of Edinburgh, an extraordinary 
member of his privy council, declaring that he 
trusted to him to preserve peace in the country, 
more than to all his nobles. 

s 2 



260 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

In effect, the most perfect tranquillity prevailed 
throughout the country during the king's absence. 
This period was for Presbyterianism the most happy 
of the sixteenth century. On his return, James, 
delighted with the services rendered to him by 
the Presbyterian ministers, called a General As- 
sembly in August 1590, and, whether moved by 
dissimulation, or by a transient fit of enthusiasm, 
there pronounced that eulogium on the Church of 
Scotland, which afterwards became so famous: — " I 
" thank God that I was born in such a time as the 
" time of the light of the Gospel, to such a place as 
"to be king in such a kirk, the sincerest kirk in 
" the world. The kirk of Geneva," continued he, 
(he alluded to it as being the most illustrious, and, 
with Scotland, the purest,) " the kirk of Geneva 
" keepeth Pasch and Yule." (In Scotland they 
keep no festivals ; they regard them as remnants 
of the Romish church, and they will keep nothing 
but the Sabbath as instituted in the Word of God. ) 
" What have they for them ? " resumed James ; 
" they have no institution. As for our neighbour 
" kirk in England, it is an evil said mass in Eng- 
" lish, wanting nothing but the liftings. I charge 
" you, my good people, ministers, doctors, elders, 
" nobles, gentlemen, and barons, to stand to your 
w purity, and to exhort the people to do the same ; 
" and I, forsooth, so long as I brook my life arid 
" crown, shall maintain the same against all 
" deadly enemies." 

James forgot these words but too soon. In the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 261 

mean time, however, they produced their effect, 
and in 1592, the parliament passed a bill abolish- 
ing all " acts contrary to the true religion," which 
has ever since been regarded as the great charter 
of the Church of Scotland. 

On the one hand, this act of 1592 ratines and 
approves the General Assemblies, as instituted by 
the church, with the Synods and Presbyteries; that 
is to say, the whole system established by the Second 
Book of Discipline. 

On the other hand, it declares the Black Acts 
to be " expired, null, and of none avail;" and 
most specially asserts that " they shall in no wise 
" be prejudicial, nor derogate any thing to the 
" privilege that God hath given to the spiritual 
" office-bearers in the kirk, concerning heads of re- 
" ligion, matters of heresy, excommunication, colla- 
" tion, or deprivation of ministers, or any such like 
" essential censures specially grounded and having 
" warrant of the Word of God." Thus did the 
Church of Scotland, in the sixteenth century, lay 
down principles which were destined, three centu- 
ries after, to meet with such warm advocates. 



s 3 



262 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

VI. 

TWO KINGS AND TWO KINGDOMS. 

The struggle soon commenced anew. Not 
only were Jesuits and priests wandering over 
Scotland, threatening evil both to church and 
state; not only was it asserted that a Spanish 
fleet was coming over with 30,000 men, who, in 
concert with the partisans of the pope in Scotland, 
were to suppress Protestantism ; but the king him- 
self was beginning to lean towards that side. 
Desirous of securing his succession to the English 
throne, he was rapidly declining from Presbyteri- 
anism, which he knew to be distasteful beyond the 
Tweed ; and, being aware that in the states of 
Elizabeth there existed a .powerful Catholic party, 
he even attempted to conciliate them. Those Scot- 
tish lords, therefore, who were inclined to that cause 
returned home, and the government was entrusted by 
the king to eight councillors, called Octavians, from 
their number, the majority of whom were Roman 
Catholics, either avowedly or disguised, and whose 
actions soon justified all the fears of the reformers. 
Could the church in Scotland resist an attack in 
which so many inimical parties were combined ? 

The commissioners of the General Assembly re- 
solved to send a deputation to the king, to avert 
the evils with which their country was threat- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 263 

ened; and they appointed, as their speaker, 
James Melville, Andrew's nephew, on account of 
his courteous manners, and because he was in 
favour with the sovereign. But hardly had he 
begun his address, when the king sharply inter- 
rupted him, and accused the Presbyterian minis- 
ters of sedition. James Melville was about to 
reply in a most submissive manner, when his 
uncle, seeing that now or never was the time to 
state broadly the great principles of the church, 
quitted the subordinate position which he had then 
taken, and coming forward addressed the king. The 
monarch ordered him to be silent ; but Andrew, 
taking him by the sleeve, forced him to listen to these 
words, which must have rung strangely in James's 
ears : " Sir, there are two kings and two kingdoms 
" in Scotland : there is Christ Jesus, and his king- 
" dom the kirk, whose subject King James the 
" Sixth is, and of whose kingdom not a king, nor a 
" head, nor a lord, but a member. And they whom 
" Christ has called and commanded to watch over 
" his kirk, and govern his spiritual kingdom, have 
" sufficient power from him, and authority so to 
" do, both together and severally, the which no 
" Christian king or prince should control and dis- 
" charge, but fortify and assist. We will yield 
" to you your place, and give you all due obedience ; 
" but again, I say, you are not the head of the 
" church ; you cannot give us eternal life, and you 
" cannot deprive us of it. If ye seek both king- 
" doms, ye shall lose both ; whereas, in cleaving 

s 4 



264 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" uprightly to God, his true servants should be 
" your sure friends, and he would compel the rest 
" to give over themselves and serve you." 

Thus spoke Andrew Melville. He had boldly 
asserted those principles of the liberty of the church, 
which are the surest guarantees of civil freedom. 
The king uttered no word of anger, he contested 
not what he had just heard, and even promised 
what was demanded of him. This was in 1596. 

But this calm was merely apparent, and behind it 
a terrible storm was gathering. A church and a 
state, whose principles were so opposite, and which 
were, nevertheless, united, could only experience 
fearful convulsions. It was a dangerous situation 
both for the prince and the ministry. Doubtless, 
the principles maintained by Melville in his address 
to the king, were founded on truth itself; doubt- 
less, he spoke out with a Christian courage which 
deserves the admiration of posterity. Yet the 
manner in which Melville apostrophised the prince, 
" God's silly vassal," is in contradiction to this 
Scripture principle, " Honour the king." Our 
attachment to the independence of the church 
must not cause us to overlook the faults of those 
who were then maintaining it. 

James was silent, but vengeance lurked within 
his heart ; and we shall soon see how the torrent 
of his anger, for a moment pent up, violently 
burst forth and spread ruin and desolation over 
the whole Church of Scotland. 

The sixteenth century closed. I now stop. 



• SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 265 

I have but one word to add. Those men were 
strong, that church was strong. In our days it is 
easier to find weak men, and a weak church. Does 
the sight of such strength terrify us ? It is, indeed, 
an alarming thing, if courage intimidates, and if 
strength overawes us. If I desire strength within 
a church, it is not so much in its conflicts with 
the powers of the world. Doubtless, wherever this 
conflict may arise, Christ demands of his people 
the same courage. But the great principle of the 
independence of the two powers, becoming more 
and more triumphant in Christendom, seems to 
ensure to the people a peace which, in that respect, 
has often been disturbed :- we know something of 
this in Switzerland and in Geneva. But if the 
church carefully withdraws herself from all col- 
lision with the state, has she, therefore, no need of 
energy ? Should she be strong in war alone, and 
not be strong in peace ? Did not her Head give 
her this command : " Preach the Gospel to every 
" creature ? " Is the world converted to Christ ? 
Does our King possess the gates of the Gentiles ? 
Not so, and yet there are Christians who are sIutjl- 
bering. Oh ! could we but cease to be feeble men, 
we, the subjects of the mighty God ! May the 
love of Christ and of his church be again kindled 
wdthin our souls, as in the days of Melville and 
of Knox, so that this saying of our Head may be 
fulfilled : " The kingdom of heaven sufFereth vio- 
u lence, and the violent take it by force." 



266 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



CHAP. VI. 

SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. PEELACY OF LAUD. 

First Period. 1600 to 1660. 

1, Utility of History. Maxim of James. Basilicon Doron. 
King-craft. General Assembly gained over. Representa- 
tion in Parliament. Northern Legion. The King prevails. 
James, King of England. Assembly of Aberdeen. Perse- 
cution. — 2. Welsh, Minister of Ayr. Six Ministers before 
the Jury. Welsh's Speech. Letter to Lilias Graham. The 
parting atLeith. Welsh in France. Acts of 1610 and 1612. 
The Five Articles of Perth. Welsh and Louis XIII. Mrs. 
Welsh and King James. — % 3. Charles I. Arminianism and 
Immorality in Scotland. Prelacy of Laud. The Canons. 
The Two Parties. The Inquisition. Rutherford in Prison. 

The Service Book brought into Edinburgh 4. 23rd July, 

1637. The Service Book interrupted. Interdict. Agitation. 
Orders of the King. Complaint against Bishops. Fast. 
28th February, 1658. The Covenant signed. Livingstone. 
The Highlands. Grutli. — 5. Hamilton. General Assembly 
called. The Bishops accused. The Lord High Commissioner 
withdraws. Firmness of the Assembly. Second Reformation. 
The Covenanters. — 6. Westminster Assembly. Election of 
Pastors. Abolition of Patronage. Charles II. called. Ire- 
land and Scotland. Resolutionists and Protesters. Ten 
Years of Peace. Spiritual Warfare. 



KING-CRAFT. 

" Take heed how ye hear." There are some who 
will hear nothing but histories, and there are others 
who will hear nothing but sermons. Some there 



SCOT PISH STRUGGLES. 267 

are whom history shocks and scandalises ; there are 
others whom sermons fatigne and weary. To both 
of these the Word of God says, " Take heed how 
" ye hear." If yon will not listen to the instructions 
of history, you make yourselves to be wiser than 
God. Open your Bible. What do you find there ? 
In what manner has it specially pleased God to in- 
struct mankind and the church ? Not entirely by 
sermons, but very frequently by histories. History 
forms a great portion both of the Old and of the 
New Testament. Nay, more ; though, doubtless, 
there are discourses in the Bible, yet these very dis- 
courses are often entirely historical. Take that of St. 
Stephen, for instance ; take many of St. Paul's. And 
when Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, would 
quicken the faith of those whom he addresses, he has 
recourse to history, and brings successively before 
their eyes those "elders" who form a "great cloud," 
and who by faith " obtained a good report." We 
have not to present to you such accounts as St. Paul; 
nevertheless, may the example of those " who by 
u faith subdued kingdoms and wrought righteous- 
" ness," confirm our hearts in the grace of Jesus 
Christ. 

" No bishop, no king." This favourite maxim of 
King James certainly did not mean, that without 
a bishop the political power of kings could not 
subsist : he had not forgotten that his political 
power had never been more respected than under 
the influence of Presbyterianism. But he desired to 
be king in the church as well as in the state, and 



268 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

thought that bishops would be necessary for such 
an end. He was willing to bestow upon them 
wealth and honours ; but in return they must ac- 
knowledge his spiritual jurisdiction. 

We do not agree with King James in this opinion ; 
we do not see that subjection to civil power should 
be essential to the episcopal system. This would be 
doing it a great injustice, and besides, the episcopal 
church of America proves the contrary. 

King James set forth his system in a book which 
he published at that time, entitled "Basilicon Doron, 
" Eoyal Gift, or Instructions of a King to his Son." 
The royal author maintains in this work, "that the 
1 office of a king is of a mixed kind, partly civil 
' and partly ecclesiastical ; that a principal part of 
1 his function consists in ruling the church ; that 
1 it belongs to him to judge when preachers wander 
' from their text, and that such as refuse to submit 
i to his judgment in such cases ought to be capitally 
4 punished ; that no ecclesiastical assemblies ought 
' to be held without his consent ; that no man is 
' more to be hated of a king than a proud puritan ; 
' that parity among ministers is irreconcileable 
c with monarchy, inimical to order, and the mother 
c of confusion ; that episcopacy should be set up, 
' and all who preached against bishops rigorously 
1 punished." 

Such was King James's theory : he immediately 
set about reducing it to practice ; and not being 
able to succeed in this by force, he had recourse to 
what he himself called " king-craft." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 269 

The ministers of Edinburgh having been banished, 
or obliged to coneeal themselves, James endeavoured 
to obtain a General Assembly, the majority of which 
should be weak and unprincipled men. One of his 
chamberlains, Sir Patrick Murray, travelled for this 
purpose over the northern parts of the kingdom. 
The king succeeded, and fifty-five questions upon 
church government having been proposed to the 
Assembly, were taken into consideration. 

He then advanced another step, and requested 
the Assembly to appoint a committee of fourteen 
of its members, who should be empowered to advise 
with him upon such questions as might arise : this 
they granted. James then induced the ecclesiastical 
council to present a petition to Parliament, demand- 
ing that the church should have a voice in the 
supreme council of the nation. The Parliament 
acceded to this, and declared that the prelates 
formed the Third Estate of the kingdom. 

It was now necessary to persuade the General 
Assembly to accept this apparent favour. 

Every thing was set to work for that purpose. 
The ecclesiastical committee wrote a circular to 
all the ministers, in which they were told, that 
this representation of the church in Parliament was 
the only means of obtaining from the state perma- 
nent stipends for the ministry. A share in the 
budget — was the bait presented to the church, to 
induce her to sacrifice her independence. 

Another Assembly was convened. The "Northern 
" Legion," that of Aberdeen, Avas again recruited, 



270 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

and every means was adopted to bring in, as elders, 
the nobles who had already voted in Parliament for 
the measure ; and the king in opening the Assembly 
made a speech, in which he declared that he did 
not intend to introduce Popish or Anglican bishops. 
The debates were long and animated. The most 
pious and able ministers rejected those expectations 
of wealth, honour, and power, which were coveted 
by the worldly. Nevertheless, the motion was 
adopted in a general form by a majority of ten, 
but the execution of it was referred to another 
Assembly. All, therefore, was not definitively 
settled. 

The king, determined to obtain his ends, declared 
that he would allow the ministers to die in poverty, 
if his wishes were not complied with ; and that he 
would establish bishops by his own authority. On 
the 20th of March, 1600, a General Assembly met 
at Montrose. James redoubled his endeavours, and 
he succeeded. It was, however, decided that the 
representatives of the Assembly in Parliament should 
not be called bishops, but commissioners of the 
church ; that they should not propose any thing to 
Parliament without the warrant of the General 
Assembly ; that they should give an account to it, 
and submit to its censure under pain of excom- 
munication. But all this was only king-craft. 
That same year the king nominated three bishops 
to the sees of Eoss, Caithness, and Aberdeen. 

In 1603, Elizabeth of England dying, James VI. 
of Scotland was proclaimed King of England, by 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 271 

the title of James I., and the Presbyterian church 
had, thenceforward, to anticipate a long period of 
mourning. 

In 1605 the General Assembly was appointed to 
meet. Several Presbyteries had already elected their 
representatives ; and nine of them, feeling convinced 
that, as the barriers of ecclesiastical discipline were 
thrown down, corruption of doctrine would shortly 
invade the church, sent their deputies to Aberdeen, 
with instructions to constitute the Assembly, and 
then to adjourn until the king should authorise 
their deliberations. But hardly had the Assembly 
met when a messenger-at-arms entered, and 
charged them, in the king's name, to dissolve on 
pain of rebellion. The Assembly declared them- 
selves ready to obey this order, and requested the 
royal commissioner, according to established cus- 
tom, to name a day and place for their next meet- 
ing to be held. The commissioner refusing to do 
so, the moderator appointed the last Tuesday of 
September, and closed the Assembly with prayer. 

The king's anger on learning these proceedings 
knew no bounds. He sent to Scotland an order to 
proceed with the utmost rigour against those mi- 
nisters who had dared to disobey him ; and fourteen 
of the most eminent, among whom was John Welsh, 
the son-in-law of Knox, were thrown into prison. 



272 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



II. 



A FREE MINISTER AND A SERVILE CHURCH. 

Welsh was minister at Ayr, to which place he 
had been called in 1590. The population of the 
town were then so degraded, that the inhabitants 
were often seen fighting in the streets. But the 
spirit of the Lord soon transformed his flock. 
Welsh spent whole days praying in the church of 
Ayr for his parishioners, wrestling alone with God. 
His plaid lay always by his bedside, and often in 
the middle of the night he would rise, wrap himself 
in this garment, and pour forth his soul before 
his Master. " I wonder," he used to say, " how a 
" Christian can lie in bed all night and not rise to 
" pray." He generally devoted eight hours a day 
to calling upon the Lord. To prayer he added 
activity. Often during the first years of his minis- 
try, when sticks and stones were flying about the 
streets of Ayr, he would cover his head with a 
helmet to defend himself from their blows, and 
throAV himself among these poor people to separate 
them. Welsh experienced the truth of the promise, 
" Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be 
" called the children of God." The wolves were 
changed into lambs, and many of his flock soon 
exhibited as much piety and devotedness as himself. 

Six of the ministers who had been sent to 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 273 

prison, among whom was Welsh, were brought be- 
fore the Criminal Court at Linlithgow, as guilty of 
High Treason. Here these generous Christians 
boldly confessed before the jury the great prin- 
ciples of the Church of Scotland, — the spiritual 
independence of the Lord's Church. " As for this 
" matter whereof we are now accused/' said Welsh, 
" and of which ye are to be our judges this day, 
" we speak unto you the truth in the sight of our 
" God ; that in this point we are thoroughly and 
" fully resolved, that it is the undoubted truth of 
" God, and that it belongs to the crown and king- 
" dom of Jesus Christ ; and we are ready (if so 
" the Lord shall call us and strengthen us) to seal 
" it up with the testimony of our blood. And this 
" our resolution is neither of yesterday nor to-day; 
" for the twenty-four weeks of our imprisonment 
" might have given us sufficient time and leisure 
" to have thought of its weightiness and gravity; 
" and howsoever many think it but a thing indif- 
u ferent, yet it is not so in our conscience, but a 
" main and essential point of Christ's kingdom, of 
" whose royal prerogatives this is one ; that He 
" should be only Sovereign Judge in all the matters 
M belonging to his kingdom, and that in and by 
" his kirk. For as we have our callings and offices 
" of Him only by the kirk, so should we be judged 
" in all the duties of our office only by Him in his 
" kirk. And seeing parliaments, councils, and all 
" civil judicatories belong only to the royal crown 
" of an earthly king, even so all the meetings, con- 

T 



274 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" ventions, and assemblies of the kirk, which is 
" the kingdom of Christ, belong essentially to his 
" royal authority and to his kingdom." 

Notwithstanding this spirited defence, the six 
ministers were condemned and thrown into prison, 
until the king should pass sentence upon them. 

John Welsh was again confined in the dun- 
geons of Blackness castle. We are acquainted 
with the sentiments of this noble confessor of 
Christ while in his prison: he stated them in 
a letter written to Lilias Graham, which has been 
preserved. " Who am I," wrote he from within 
those walls, " that He should first have so called 
" me, and constituted me a minister of the glad 
" tidings of the Gospel of salvation these years 
" already ; and now, last of all, to be a sufferer for 
" his cause and kingdom? Now, let it be so, that I 
" have fought my fight, and run my race, and 
" now from henceforth is laid up for me that crown 
" of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous 
" judge, will give, and not to me only, but to all 
u that love his appearance, and are chosen to wit- 
" ness this, that Jesus Christ is the King of Saints, 
" and that his church is a most free kingdom, yea, 
" as free as any kingdom under heaven. We have 
" been ever waiting with joy fulness to give the 
" last testimony of our blood in confirmation 
"thereof, if it should please our God to be so 
" favourable as to honour us with that dignity ; 
" and it would be the most glorious day and glad- 
" dest hour I ever saw in this life." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 275 

Such, in the prison of Blackness, were the senti- 
ments of this servant of God. It was generally- 
expected that Welsh and his friends would be con- 
demned to death ; but the people were so earnest 
in their favour, that James judged it most prudent 
to sentence them to banishment only. 

At midnight, on the 7th of November, the dun- 
geons in which Welsh and his five colleagues were 
confined, were thrown open ; guards with lighted 
torches surrounded them, and led them quickly 
from their prison to the sea- side. It was two 
o'clock in the morning, and the scene then pre- 
sented on the shore of Leith was still more over- 
powering than that which is recorded in the 21st 
chapter of the Acts, when Paul, repairing to Jeru- 
salem, was accompanied to the ship by the Chris- 
tians of Tyre, with their wives and children, and all 
were kneeling on the ground. 

Notwithstanding the hour of the night, which had 
been purposely chosen for the prisoners to embark, 
a great multitude had suddenly gathered on the 
shore, to bid them a last farewell. Welsh uttered 
an affecting prayer, and the whole assembly, lighted 
by a few flickering torches on the sea- side, sang 
the 23d Psalm, " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall 
" not want." The exiles then left the soil of 
Scotland, accompanied by the tears and the prayers 
of their brethren. 

Welsh, as we know, came to France, where three 
months after his arrival he began to preach in 
French. He was at first pastor at Nerac, after- 

T 2 



276 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

wards at St. Jean d'Angely. These churches have 
preserved affecting recollections of his residence 
there. They still remember how he acted and 
spoke in the presence of Louis XIII., with the 
same courage which had inspired him before the 
agents of James I. His midnight prayers, during 
his abode in Sainton ge, and the wonderful effects 
they produced, are among the most interesting 
reminiscences of French Protestantism. 

The firmest men being now removed, James 
advanced rapidly in the establishment of Prelacy. 
The bishops were appointed constant Moderators 
of the Synods and Presbyteries ; Parliament em- 
powered them to modify the stipends of the 
ministers, and two Courts of High Commission were 
created, by means of which the king exercised an 
absolute power in the church. 

A servile Assembly, held at Glasgow in 1610, 
delivered up the church to the king and the bishops; 
and the Parliament in 1612, when ratifying its acts, 
declared that the king was the only lawful supreme 
governor of the realm, u as well in matters spiritual 
" and ecclesiastical, as in things temporal." 

This act of parliament also established, that in 
case a minister presented by the patron should 
be refused by the ecclesiastical authority, without 
sufficient reason, the lords of the session and coun- 
cil, upon a complaint being made to them, should 
oblige the ecclesiastical authority to admit the 
minister presented by the patron. This is the 
same right which has lately been claimed by the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 277 

civil courts, only that the civil power in our day- 
has gone farther than in the time of King James ; 
since this act of 1612 respected ministers already 
in office, while, in our times, the state seeks to 
oblige the church to admit mere licentiates, or 
probationers. However, the act of 1612 was 
itself abolished afterwards by the Kevolution set- 
tlement. 

A General Assembly, which met at Perth in 
1618, surrounded with armed men, and threat- 
ened with the king's anger, accepted in alarm 
and terror the Five Articles of Perth ; which 
established, among other things, Episcopal confir- 
mation, and the obligation of kneeling at the Com- 
munion, a practice which the Scotch held in the 
greatest horror, regarding it as worship paid to 
the Host. These Five Articles received the sanction 
of Parliament on the 4th of August, 1621, a day 
known in the history of Scotland by the name of 
Black Saturday. 

It was three or four years after this that John 
Welsh, who had passed fourteen years in exile, 
returned to England. His residence in France 
proves to us that it is no new thing for the 
Church of Scotland to take a share in the evan- 
gelisation of the Continent. Welsh was the pastor 
of St. Jean d'Angely, when Louis XIII. , making 
war against the Protestants, besieged that town 
in person. He encouraged the inhabitants in 
their defence, till the king consented to leave 
them their privileges, and merely demanded to 

T 3 



278 HISTOKICAL KECOLLECTIONS. 

enter the city in a friendly manner. The Scottish 
minister continued to preach, which so irritated the 
king, that the Duke d'Epernon was ordered to drag 
the bold minister from the pulpit, and bring him 
before Louis. The duke having entered the church, 
followed by the guards, Welsh desired room to be 
made, and invited that nobleman to sit down and 
hear the Word of the Lord. The duke took a 
seat, and, when the sermon was finished, ordered 
Welsh to follow him. " How dare you," asked the 
king, " preach in this place, since it is against 
" the laws of the kingdom to deliver sermons 
" where I hold my court ?" " Sire," replied Welsh, 
" if you did right, you would come and hear me 
" preach, and make all France hear me likewise: 
" for I preach, that you must be saved by the death 
" and merits of Jesus Christ, and not by your own; 
" and I declare, that as you are King of France, 
" you are under the authority of no man upon 
" earth. Those priests whom you hear," continued 
the Scotchman, " subject you to the Pope of Rome, 
" which I will never do." " Well, well," said the 
king, smiling, "you shall be my minister;" and 
dismissed him graciously. 

In 1621, the war being renewed, the king took 
the town, and ordered the captain of his guard to 
enter and preserve his minister from all danger. 
Welsh was sent to Eochelle with his family. His 
French flock being thus dispersed, and his own 
health much weakened, he was advised to return to 
breathe his native air. He arrived in London, but 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 279 

notwithstanding the declarations of the physicians, 
King James would never allow him to return to 
Scotland. " If he were there," said he, "I could 
" never establish Episcopacy." 

Mrs. Welsh obtained an audience of the king, 
and entreated him to save her husband's life, by 
granting him permission to return to his country. 
" Who was your father ? " asked the king. " Mr. 
" Knox," replied she. — " Knox and Welsh!" ex- 
claimed the king ; " the devil never made such a 
" match as that!" — " It is right like, sir," she an- 
swered ; " for we never asked his advice." 

The daughter of Knox, again urging her request 
that her dying husband might once more breathe 
his native air, the king told her he would grant 
it only on condition that she should persuade 
Welsh to submit to the bishops. " Please your 
" Majesty," replied this heroic woman, taking up 
her apron by the corners, and holding it out as if 
to receive the head of her husband, " I would 
" rather hep (receive) his head there." James 
would not even allow Welsh to preach in London 
until he learned that he was at the point of death, 
and then consented in unfeeling mockery. Welsh 
hastened to embrace this opportunity of once more 
proclaiming the good tidings of salvation. He 
preached with great fervour, and two hours after he 
entered into his everlasting rest. 



T 4 



280 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



III. 



THE KING'S CANONS AND THE IMPRISONED MINISTERS. 

On the 27th March, 1625, King James died, 
and his son, Charles I., who inherited his despotic 
temper, but was endowed with more firmness, had 
soon recourse to measures destined to awaken the 
whole nation to energetic resistance. 

These encroachments of power were becoming 
more and more easy. Orthodox Christians in ge- 
neral show themselves jealous of the independence 
of the church ; while, on the contrary, Arminians, 
Arians, and Socinians, think too cheaply of it. 
Truth in Scotland now fell, and with it liberty fell 
also. The young Scottish bishops, and all that was 
worldly in the church, zealously embraced Arminian 
errors. Christ being lowered as a King, he must 
also be lowered as a Priest and as a Prophet. More- 
over, morality was declining, and dissipation, pro- 
fanation of the Lord's Day, vice, and profligacy, 
increased rapidly. 

The moment had now arrived for striking a 
decisive blow. Charles I., the grandson of Mary 
Stuart, a descendant of the Guises, visited Scot- 
land in 1633, resolved upon the definitive esta- 
blishment of Prelacy ; which, if not under this 
prince, at least under his son, would, without a 
Providential intervention, have brought about the 
re-establishment of Popery. It was not — mark this 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 281 

well — it was not pure Episcopacy, the evangelical 
Episcopacy of the Thirty- nine Articles, that he 
desired to establish in Scotland ; it was the semi- 
popish Prelacy of Laud, which has always been as 
much opposed to the Episcopacy of Latimer and 
Cranmer, as to the Presbyterian ism of Melville and 
Knox. 

Charles I. appointed a bishop of Edinburgh ; he 
then published, by letters patent, on the 23d of 
May, 1635, a book called " The Book of Canons," 
which had been submitted to the approbation of 
Archbishop Laud, and which was intended to serve 
for the government of the church. The first of 
these canons pronounced excommunication against 
all who should deny the king's supremacy in 
ecclesiastical matters. It was also decreed, that 
General Assemblies should be called only by the 
king's authority ; that no ecclesiastical business 
should be discussed, except in the bishops' courts ; 
that no private meeting or conventicle should be 
held; and that no minister in public should use 
extemporary prayer. On hearing these canons, the 
people of Scotland were filled with horror, and all 
recognised in them a stepping-stone to Popery. 

Every thing was marching towards it. The two 
parties silently prepared for the conflict. The pre- 
lates, leaning more and more upon the political 
power of the state, established themselves in the 
Privy Council, the Exchequer, and the Courts of 
Justice ; while the Christians sought strength in the 
Word of God and in fervent prayer. Their preach- 



282 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

ers have been accused of turning the pulpit into a 
mere political tribune ; but their writings still exist, 
and in them we find the purest piety. 

Many of them had soon to bear their Master's 
cross. Each of the bishops, within his own diocese, 
held Church Courts, before which they cited whom- 
soever they pleased. " These courts," says Bishop 
Burnet, " differed little from the Inquisition." 
Among the pious men whom they attacked, was 
Samuel Rutherford, minister of Anwoth. Rising 
commonly at three o'clock in the morning, Ruther- 
ford spent the whole day in reading the Word, in 
prayer, study, writing, and visiting his flock. Some 
of his compositions were so powerful that the Bishop 
of Galloway, in 1630, summoned him before the Court 
of High Commission, and afterwards caused him to 
be imprisoned at Aberdeen. Such was his love for 
his flock, that often when walking about his prison 
chamber, and standing before the bars of his 
window, Rutherford envied the lot of the swallows, 
free to fly to the church of Anwoth. But his heart 
was still fuller of the love of Christ ; and thus his 
prison soon became to him a palace. The Lord 
hid him in his pavilion in the time of trouble, and 
lifted up his head above his enemies. (Ps. xxvii. 
5,6.) Often, during his slumbers, his wondering 
keepers heard him speaking to the Lord. " I know 
" no sweeter way to Heaven," said he to one of his 
friends, " than the free grace of Christ, and the 
" hard trials of the cross put together in the same 
" life." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 283 

Such were already the sufferings of Christ's serv- 
ants, when a letter from the king, and an act of the 
Privy Council, under the sanction of the General 
Assembly and the Parliament, ordered that a 
Liturgy, revised by Laud, and modelled by him 
after the Komish Missal, " as nearly," says Kirkton, 
" as English can be to Latin," should be introduced 
into the churches of Edinburgh. A murmur of 
indignation arose throughout Scotland ; dark clouds 
gathered over that ancient country ; and by the 
cries that were heard from the hills of Caledonia to 
the shores of the sea, it was evident that a fearful 
storm was about to burst forth. The illegal act of 
a king, who claimed to command at his pleasure in 
the church of Jesus Christ, was about to be an- 
swered by the spontaneous resistance of a whole 
people. I do not approve of the manner in which 
this national energy manifested itself; but as for 
the resistance, I dare not condemn it. It mav find 
its warrant in the* charter of Heaven itself. 



IV. 



THE COVENANT. 



On the 23d of July, 1637, the great attempt 
w r as to be made at Edinburgh to revolutionise the 
church by a stroke of state policy. Several prelates 



284 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

had repaired to the capital, to sanction and dignify 
by their presence the introduction of the Missal in 
disguise. An immense congregation met in the 
cathedral of St. Giles. A calm and deep sadness, 
mingled with indignation and vengeance, rendered 
this a solemn scene. 

The dean of Edinburgh was to strike the fatal 
blow. Arrayed in his white surplice, which fell 
in graceful folds from his shoulders down to the 
knees, the wide sleeves hanging loosely behind, the 
priest appeared, went up into the pulpit, and began 
to read the service of the day before a people who 
could scarcely contain their feelings. He had ut- 
tered but a few words, when, suddenly, an old 
woman, Jenny Geddes by name, rose up, exclaim- 
ing, " Villain ! — dost thou say mass at my lug ? " 
And then, remembering perhaps Him who in the 
temple overthrew the tables of the money changers, 
and poured out their money to defend His Father's 
house (John iL), this Presbyterian Scotchwoman 
seized the stool on whicli she sat, and hurled it, 
with the energy of her nation, at the Mass Book 
and the dean's head. 

A fierce tumult immediately burst out, and the 
church became one scene of confusion. Several 
persons rushed towards the reading desk. The 
frightened priest escaped, leaving his sacerdotal 
ornaments in the hands of the people. In vain 
did the Bishop of Edinburgh himself endeavour 
to ascend the pulpit ; the magistrates could hardly 
protect him, and it required great exertions to save 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 285 

the other prelates. Such was the fatal storm 
raised by the illegal intrusions of the state. 

Events like these are to be deplored, and many 
writers, both English and foreign, have taken ad- 
vantage of them to attack the Church of Scotland ; 
but it must not be overlooked that every system 
runs into some excesses, and if the Church of Scot- 
land has done so in one way, that of England has 
in another. This reflection ought to teach tolera- 
tion to the wise of all parties. If the scum of 
popular passions was then thrown up, we must not 
forget that it was the mighty hand of God which 
caused the waters of the deep to rise. 

The astonished and alarmed prelates beheld with 
consternation this impetuous outburst of popular 
fury, which, overflowing the bounds appointed by 
God, had even invaded the pulpit, and dashed the 
Liturgy from their trembling hands. It was the 
women, it is true, who had suddenly opposed so 
energetic a resistance to the ministers of the abso- 
lute will of Charles I. ; but the bishops fancied that 
they could see hidden behind their caps and aprons 
adversaries still more terrible, — the wrath of the 
whole nation. Archbishop Spottiswood, a worthy 
imitator of the popes of the middle ages, laid the 
whole town under an interdict, and suspended all 
public worship even on the holy day of Sunday. 
This was like Boniface VIII. excommunicating Philip 
the Fair and the kingdom of France. They thought 
it better that the people should not worship God 
at all, than worship him without the Missal ! 



286 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

The news of what had taken place in Edinburgh 
spread instantly all over the kingdom, and was 
every where regarded as the trumpet-signal which 
called upon Presbyterian Scotland to rise in defence 
of her liberties. The ministers, so long oppressed 
by the tyranny of the court and of the prelates, as 
they saw the ardour of the people around them, 
began to understand that the days of their servi- 
tude were drawing to an end. The Privy Council 
informed the king of the universal discontent 
caused by the introduction of what was called the 
Mass Book, and pointed out to him the dangers 
which might ensue, if he persisted in that impru- 
dent course. 

But, says the Hebrew sage, " Better is a poor 
" and a wise child, than an old and foolish king 
" who will no more be admonished." (Ec. iv. 13.) 
Charles replied to this prudent advice by a severe 
letter, blaming the Privy Council for their weak- 
ness, and ordering the Liturgy to be everywhere 
introduced without delay. They endeavoured to 
submit. There was even a bishop who, in order to 
obey the civil power, shut himself up in his church, 
barricaded the doors for fear of the people, and 
there read his Mass Book in triumph — to himself. 
This was quite in the spirit of the Romish tradi- 
tion. Are there not in popery, private masses at 
which the priest officiates alone ? 

On hearing of this royal order, the Presbyte- 
rians flocked to Edinburgh from all parts of the 
country. The whole nation was awakened from its 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 287 

slumber of forty years. They presented to the 
Privy Council a formal complaint against the 
bishops. It was drawn up by the Earl of Loudon 
and David Dickson. The prelates were therein 
accused of being the causes of all the commotions 
of the kingdom ; and the false doctrines, the super- 
stitions, and the idolatry to be found in the canons 
were pointed out. It was shown, moreover, that 
this legislation was subversive of the constitution 
of the church ; and the redress of these grievances, 
and the re-establishment of the principles of the 
Reformation were earnestly demanded. 

The king then issued a proclamation, in which 
he declared that " the bishops were unjustly ac- 
' ; cused as being authors of the Service Book and 
" Canons, seeing whatever was done by them in 
" that matter, was by his Majesty's authority and 
u order." 

The Scottish people comprehended the serious 
nature of their situation. They were required to 
submit to the arbitrary power of the state in reli- 
gious matters ; to bow their heads under the dis- 
graceful yoke of the canons and the prelates, or 
to make an open resistance. They could no longer 
hesitate. 

But, first of all, they remembered that the Lord 
had said, " If my people shall humble themselves, 
" and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their 
" wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and 
" will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 
(2 Chron. vii. 14.) A solemn fast was proclaimed 



288 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

and observed, to confess the sins of the church. 
And then, gathering into one document the Old 
Covenant of 1581, which King James himself, the 
father of the reigning monarch, had signed, and 
all the acts condemnatory of Popery, with an ad- 
dition applying them to the present circumstances, 
the Scotch laid hold of these legitimate charters 
of their nation, and presented them before Heaven. 

On the 28th February, 1638, a great crowd filled 
the Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh, and in the 
burial-ground 60,000 Presbyterians had assem- 
bled. Henderson, the minister, fervently invoked 
the Divine blessing on this vast meeting, and the 
Earl of Loudon stated the motives which had 
brought them together. Johnstone unrolled the 
parchment, on which these Scottish charters were 
inscribed, and read them in a clear, calm voice. 
When he had finished, there was a deep and 
solemn silence : a few explanations were demand- 
ed and given; then, again, all was still as the 
grave. 

But the silence was soon broken. An aged man 
of noble air was seen advancing ; it was the Earl of 
Sutherland, one of the most considerable of the 
Scottish barons, whose possessions included all the 
northern parts of the British Isles. He came for- 
ward slowly, and deep emotion was visible in his 
venerable features. He took up the pen with a 
trembling hand and signed the document. 

A general movement now took place. All the 
Presbyterians within the church pressed forward to 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 289 

the Covenant and subscribed their names. But 
this was not enough; a whole nation was wait- 
ing: the immense parchment was carried into 
the church-yard, and spread out on a large tomb- 
stone, to receive on this expressive table the signa- 
ture of the church. Scotland had never beheld 
a day like that. The heads of the people then 
said, as Joshua once did, " As for me and my 
" house, we will serve the Lord. And the peo- 
" pie answered and said, God forbid that we 
" should forsake the Lord." (Josh. xxiv. 15, 16.) 
They rushed to the tomb which covered the ashes 
of one of Caledonia's sons, and on which was 
spread that charter by which the nation, in sign- 
ing it, became " witnesses against themselves, 
" that they chose the Lord to serve him." (v. 22.) 
Some sobbed, some shouted ; some, after their 
names, added " till death," and others opening a 
vein, wrote their name with their own blood. 
There was no confusion, no tumult. After these 
hours of strong emotion, this immense multitude 
dispersed quietly, and each one returned to his 
home in peace. 

On the following day, the parchment, to which 
it became necessary to add several more sheets, was 
carried to different parts of the town, that the in- 
habitants of the respective districts might affix their 
signatures. Crowds accompanied it from place to 
place, shedding tears, and imploring the Divine 
blessing on these acts. At the same time a remark- 
able improvement took place in the life and man- 

u 



290 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

ners of those who signed. With the exception of 
one instance of trifling importance, no injury was 
anywhere done either to the prelates or their par- 
tisans. 

The Covenant then began to make the circuit of 
Scotland. John Livingston was at Lanark, his 
father's parish, when it was read and sworn to by 
the minister, elders, and people. Livingston, yet 
a young minister, having been called upon to preach 
in the church of Shotts, in the year 1630, on a 
Communion day, had passed the whole night, from 
Sunday to Monday, in prayer. In the morning, 
standing on a tombstone, he preached in the 
churchyard to a great multitude, on Ezekiel 
xxxvi. 25, 26, " Then will I sprinkle clean water 
" upon you, and ye shall be clean." The pouring 
out of the Spirit of God was such, that five hun- 
dred persons could date their conversion from that 
day. Soon after, on a similar occasion, a thousand 
persons were either converted or remarkably con- 
firmed ; the preceding night having, in like manner, 
been devoted by the young minister and some 
pious friends to fervent prayer. The Covenant 
now arrived at Lanark ; and the servant of the 
Most High again witnessed those powerful emo- 
tions which the Spirit of God had formerly excited 
in the church-yards of Shotts and of Holywood. 
Thousands of reformed Christians were standing 
with their hands uplifted, and tears falling from 
their eyes, while with one consent they all de- 
voted themselves to the Lord. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 291 

Such scenes might be witnessed every where. In 
the Highlands especially, this Evangelical alliance 
was joyfully welcomed. The king and the prelates, 
with the view of getting rid of the most pious and 
steadfast ministers — Bruce, Eutherford, Dickson, 
and others — had banished them to those wild 
districts; but by the instructions of these godly 
ministers, vital Christianity had been widely spread 
abroad. Rival clans, which had never before met, 
except in strife, now saluted each other as breth- 
ren, and, after signing the Covenant, departed 
in charity and peace. The bishops were thunder- 
struck. " All that we have been doing these 
" thirty years," exclaimed they, " is thrown down 
11 in one day." 

Such was the commencement of that important 
affair of the Covenant, which a celebrated novelist 
has represented in so false a light. Such was 
the Grutli of Scotland. Many circumstances here, 
indeed, remind us of that solemn moment when Wal- 
ter Furst, Stauffacher, Melchtal, and their friends, 
lifted their three fingers to heaven, and swore to 
save Switzerland from the tyranny of the Austrians. 
We must, nevertheless, observe, that Scotland had 
still greater evils to encounter. It was not only 
her political liberty which was endangered, it was 
also those rights of conscience which are held of 
God alone, and which were then trampled on by 
worthy pupils of Innocent III., Pius Y., Philip of 
Spain, and Charles IX. of France. And while 

great popular movements have been too often 

u 2 



292 



HISTOKICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



accompanied with irreligion and hatred of the 
Gospel, it was only by bowing the knee before 
God and His Word that the Scotch learned to pre- 
sent a forehead like adamant to the powers of the 
earth. (Ezek. iii. 9.) Yet, whatever may be the 
difference, we can never see a people having re- 
course to arms for the defence of their conscience, 
and forbear deploring it ; for this can never be 
clone without the mixture of earthly and spiritual 
things producing lamentable excesses. We say, 
and repeat with the Apostle: " We do not war 
" after the flesh; for the weapons of our war- 
" fare are not carnal, but mighty through God." 
(2 Cor. x. 3, 4.) 



y. 



SECOND REFORMATION. 



The king, astounded at this great national move- 
ment, appointed the Marquis of Hamilton Lord 
High Commissioner, commanding him to re-esta- 
blish Prelacy in Scotland, and secretly authoris- 
ing him to act any part he might think proper; 
and even, should it be necessary, to seem opposed 
to his views. For this purpose, Charles provided 
Hamilton beforehand with secret letters of pardon 
in these terms : — " These are, therefore, to assure 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 293 

" you, and if need be, hereafter to testify to others, 
" that whatsoever ye shall say to them to discover 
" their intentions, ye shall neither be called in 
" question for the same ; nor yet shall it prove in 
" any way prejudicial to you." We see that the 
king's letters of indulgence almost exceed those of 
the pope. 

The majority of the English, and even the 
nobles, were opposed to the violent measures which 
the king was about to adopt. The English and 
the Scottish people do not in this appear as rivals, 
but rather as brethren, enduring, in a greater or 
less degree, the same evils. It was from the 
Vatican, the Escurial, and the Louvre, that the 
tempest was blowing which was so soon to devas- 
tate Britain ; and many of the English regarded 
the wrongs done to the Scotch, as if they had been 
inflicted on themselves. 

To the perfidious conduct of Charles, the Scotch 
only offered a legitimate opposition. As soon as 
the Marquis of Hamilton arrived, they demanded of 
him a General Assembly and a Parliament, for they 
were willing to proceed conformably to the consti- 
tution both of church and state. The Lord 
High Commissioner, after much hesitation, decided 
upon trying that way. He hoped to influence the 
electious, as James I. had clone, to sow disunion in 
the Assembly, and thus to maintain the royal su- 
premacy in the church. Charles began, like his 
father, by "king-craft," reserving the sword for a 
future occasion. 

u 3 



294 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

For twenty years previously there had been no 
General Assembly in the Church of Scotland ; and 
for forty years there had not been a pure one. The 
Presbyterians, deeply moved at beholding once 
more their ancient institutions, did all in their 
power to recall the principles which had fallen into 
oblivion. Whenever the congregations met for 
prayer, the members were seen exhorting one an- 
other to fidelity ; and they returned as members of 
Assembly those ministers, nobles, and gentlemen, 
who were the most able and the most zealous. 
Hamilton was in consternation at learning this : 
it was no servile Assembly, like those of Glasgow 
and Perth, which was now preparing. The Lord 
High Commissioner would willingly have proro- 
gued this council of the Scottish Church, but he 
knew it would have been held notwithstanding his 
opposition. The cup must now be drained. 

On the 21st of November, 1638, the ministers 
and elders of Scotland met, to advise upon the im- 
portant affair of the restoration of Presbyterianism. 
The royal commissioner and the true Presbyterians 
at last were brought face to face. The latter, aware 
that the slightest error would be their ruin, acted 
with remarkable prudence and firmness. That excel- 
lent minister, Alexander Henderson, the worthy 
successor of Knox and Melville, was chosen Mo- 
derator. 

The prelates, foreseeing the issue of their debates, 
sent in a declaration, by which they declined the 
judicature of the Assembly. But the latter de- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 295 

clared, that as the prelates had sent a representative 
in their name, they had acknowledged it by that very 
act, and ordered an answer to that effect to be 
immediately drawn up. 

This was done, and soon after, this formidable 
indictment was read in presence of the General 
Assembly, and of the commissioner of Charles I. 
The prelates were therein accused of having trans- 
gressed the limits (caveats) imposed upon them by 
the king, of having usurped a lordly supremacy over 
the church, of teaching heretical doctrines, and of 
having been personally guilty of irreligious con- 
duct, and even of the grossest immorality. St. Paul, 
writing to Titus, had forbidden that men should be 
chosen bishops who were " soon angry," " given to 
" wine," " accused of riot, or unruly." The church 
accused the bishops of the faults proscribed by 
St. Paul. 

As soon as this paper had been read, the Mo- 
derator demanded of the Assembly whether they 
found themselves competent to sit in judgment 
upon that cause. Hamilton, who had listened 
with confusion to the scandalous enumeration of 
the tyranny, heresies, and vices of the prelates, 
forbade any further proceedings, and ordered the 
Assembly to dissolve. 

What were the Presbyterians to do ? They had 
received from the mouth of their Master the rule of 
their conduct. Jesus said, a Render unto Cassar the 
" things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things 
" that are God's." " All that belongeth to us we 

u 4 



296 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" are ready to render unto his majesty," said Hen- 
derson ; " our lives, our goods, and our liberties ; 
" all — all. But what belongs to God, and to the 
" liberties of His house, the piety of his majesty 
" will not demand them of us ; and, if he did, 
" we could not sacrifice them. Even if your 
" Grace should leave the Assembly," added Hen- 
derson and Lord Loudon, " the Assembly will con- 
V tinue to sit until it has performed its duty." 

Hamilton felt great emotion : his voice trem- 
bled, his cheeks were pale, and tears fell from his 
eyes. " I stand," said he, il to the king's prero- 
" gative, as supreme judge over all causes civil 
" and ecclesiastical. To him the lords of the clergy 
" have appealed ; and, therefore, I will not suffer 
" their cause to be farther reasoned here." He 
then desired the Moderator to close the Assembly 
with prayer. Henderson refused to do so. The Lord 
High Commissioner then arose, declared the As- 
sembly dissolved, and retired in distress and per- 
plexity, foreseeing the terrible consequences which 
would ensue to his country. 

This was a solemn moment for the church. The 
great question was set before her, " To be, or not 
' ( to be ?" It was to know, whether the authority 
of an earthly prince was to prevail within her, over 
the authority of her Eternal King. The royal power 
had withdrawn. The representative of Charles I., 
his knights, his councillors, his pages, had left the 
hall. But was there not present the King of kings, 
the Lord of lords, who had said, "I am with you 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 297 

" always even unto the end of the world ?" (Matt. 
xxviii. 20.) 

Henderson and the Presbyterians remained un- 
moved. In the name of Christ, their Invisible King, 
and in the name of the law violated by the state, this 
Assembly, representing the Church of Scotland, 
declared itself constituted, and competent to judge 
in all spiritual causes, notwithstanding the absence 
of the state ; reserving, nevertheless, in order to 
show submission to the government, all that might 
entail any civil consequences. 

Then this great Scottish council, proceeding with 
order and dignity, declared null all those Assem- 
blies from 1606 to 1618, by which, in opposition 
to the constitutions of the church and the nation, 
Prelacy had been introduced into Scotland. They 
condemned the five articles of Perth and the 
Liturgy. They deposed and excommunicated 
eight of the bishops , simply deposed four more, 
and allowed the other two to continue their func- 
tions as ordinary ministers. They re-established 
Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies, and 
forbade the intrusion of a minister into any parish 
against the will of the congregation. In short, 
they firmly settled once more the great princi- 
ple of the independence of the church as to the 
state. " There is," it was stated, " a distinction 
" made between civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 
" All is ecclesiastical, and only ecclesiastical, in the 
" one ; and all civil, and only civil, in the other : 
" their very principles and rules are different. In 



298 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

■f the one, civil laws are the rule, but in the other 
" the Word of God is the only rule. They are in- 
" dependent of one another in their own jurisdic- 
" tion ; and, as an Assembly cannot prescribe rules 
" to the Parliament in civil matters, no more ought 
" the Parliament to prescribe to the Assembly in 
" ecclesiastical." 

It was also settled, that the next General Assem- 
bly should meet at Edinburgh on the third Wed- 
nesday of July, 1639, in virtue of its own intrinsic 
powers, whether it should be convened by the king 
or not. 

On the 20th of December, Henderson, after pro- 
nouncing the apostolic benediction, declared that 
noble General Assembly dissolved in these remark- 
able words : " We have now cast down the walls 
" of Jericho : let him that rebuildeth them beware 
" of the curse of Hiel the Bethelite." Hiel the 
Bethelite was he who attempted to rebuild Jericho, 
and this was the curse pronounced upon him, and 
which Henderson applied to those who would re- 
build Prelacy in Scotland : " Cursed be the man 
" before the Lord," said Joshua, " that riseth up 
" and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the 
" foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his 
" youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." 
An awful malediction, which was registered in hea- 
ven, and fulfilled by the destruction of the Stuarts, 
from their first-born to the last of their posterity. 

The Assembly of 1638 was perhaps the most 
important that the Church of Scotland had ever 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 299 

lielcl. Presbyterianism was established on its pri- 
mitive basis. This epoch is, therefore, called in 
Scottish history the Second Reformation. 

The Marquis of Hamilton seeing all his efforts 
unavailing, hastily returned to London, where 
he found the king inflamed with rage. The Eng- 
lish, far from supporting their sovereign against 
the Scots, recognised the spirit of Popery in 
Charles's proceedings, and began to fear for them- 
selves. One of those great movements which 
change the destinies of nations was now in prepara- 
tion; and once more was that ancient prophecy 
about to be accomplished — " I gave thee a king in 
" mine anger, and took him away in my wrath." 
(Hosea, xiii. 11.) 

The kino; resolved to march against all those 
who had subscribed the Covenant ; while the Pres- 
byterians, on their side, took up arms (1639). 
Their camp at Dunse Law presented a singular spec- 
tacle. In some of the tents the singing of psalms 
was heard ; from others, prayers were ascend- 
ing to heaven ; and in others, men were devoutly 
reading the Scriptures. Before the tent of each 
captain floated a banner with the Scottish colours, 
bearing the national arms and this motto — 
a For Christ's crown and Covenant." Morning and 
evening the sound of the trumpet called the regi- 
ments to their devotions. Vs T e shall not describe the 
political events that ensued ; as it is of the church 
alone that we would speak. 



300 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



VI. 



WAR AND PEACE. 

One of the dearest wishes of the Scottish people 
was to see the same church of Christ in the whole 
island. With this view, in 1643, the famous West- 
minster Assembly was held in London, in which 
were the most eminent men of England and Scot- 
land met together; and which had for its object to 
draw up a form of doctrine, of constitution, and of 
discipline, which should unite all the churches of 
Great Britain into one body, fitted to glorify the 
name of Christ, and resist effectually the power of 
the Papacy. Such was to be the result of the 
triumph of that Covenant, the signing of which 
had been commenced upon a tombstone. 

There were three parties in this Assembly, the 
Episcopalians, the Independents, and the Presby- 
terians, who held a middle course between the 
former two; and it was necessary, to a certain 
extent, to conciliate the views of these three 
parties. 

The English Presbyterians even differed from 
those of Scotland ; they were not disposed to grant 
full rights to the flocks. The ancient Episcopal 
influence, the fear of Independent principles, the 
view of what the church then was — very imper- 
fect, it is true, in England — occasioned them some 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 301 

scruples in this regard. Nevertheless, it was set- 
tled, with respect to the election of ministers, that 
" the candidate should be sent to the church he 
" w#s to serve, to preach at three different times, 
" and to converse with the members, that they 
" may have trial of his gifts for their edification, 
" and that they may have an opportunity of being 
" acquainted with his life and conversation ; then, 
" this congregation is to make known their consent 
" or their objections." Although it was stipulated 
that the flock was to give its consent, the Scottish 
Assembly, accepting the draft of that of West- 
minster, expressly reserved all that might infringe 
upon the rights, either of presbyteries or congrega- 
tions, as to the calling of ministers. 

The Scottish parliament, which met on the 9th 
of March, 1649, passed an act, important as ma- 
nifesting the spirit of the church and people. 
" Patronages and presentations of kirks," it says, 
" is an evil and bondage under which the Lord's 
" people, and ministers of this land, have long , 
" groaned ; it hath no warrant in God's word, but is 
" founded only on the canon law, and is a custom 
" popish, and was brought into the kirk in time 
" of ignorance and superstition; the same is con- 
" trary to the Second Book of Discipline, and unto 
" several acts of General Assemblies ; it is prejudi- 
" cial to the liberty of the people and planting of 
" kirks, and unto the free calling and entry of 
" ministers into their charges." The act then pro- 
ceeds to annul " all patronages and presentations, 



302 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" whether belonging to the king or to any laic 
" patron, presbyteries, or others within the king- 
" dom ; " and enacts, that the places of ministers 
shall be filled " upon the suit and calling, or with 
" the consent of the congregation, on whom none 
" is to be obtruded against their will." 

In July of the same year, the General Assembly 
passed another act, by virtue of which, if the ma- 
jority declared that the presentee did not edify, or 
that they had not confidence in him, the presbytery 
and the flock were to have a mutual conference, in 
order to clear up the matter ; but it nowhere says 
that the majority, notwithstanding their opposi- 
tion, should be constrained to admit the minister, — 
a constraint which would have been diametrically 
opposed to the principles so clearly established by 
the ecclesiastical law of Scotland. 

The Scottish parliament sent commissioners to 
Holland, to negotiate with the young king, Charles 
II., whose father, Charles I., to the great grief of 
Scotland, had died on the scaffold. These commis- 
sioners found him surrounded by unprincipled 
and profligate men ; and the parliament was, 
therefore, thinking of recalling its deputies, when 
Charles arrived in Scotland, and carelessly signed 
the fundamental laws of the Covenant, which esta- 
blished the liberties both of church and state. 
" Sir," said the minister Gillespie, " do not sub- 
" scribe that declaration ; no, not for the three 
" kingdoms, if you are not satisfied, in your soul 
" and conscience, beyond all hesitation, of its right- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 303 

" eousness." — " Mr. Gillespie, Mr. Gillespie," replied 
the king, " I am satisfied, I am satisfied, and there- 
" fore will subscribe." And lie did so. But his poli- 
tical and religious opinions, and his corrupt heart, 
his licentious conduct, and hatred of all that was 
most pious in Scotland were in flagrant opposition 
to his oaths. By replacing on the throne a Stuart 
still more despotic, and, above all, more depraved 
than either his father or his grandfather had been, 
did not Scotland expose herself to greater dangers ? 
Might not the Covenant be destroyed, the Word of 
God sealed, Presbyterianism abolished, and Prelacy 
restored ? . . . . 

The Scotch have often been blamed for re-call- 
ing Charles II. ; neither can I justify this step, 
which exposed the three kingdoms to the en- 
croachments of despotism, popery, and immo- 
rality. But we should understand the mean- 
ing of this transaction. The more decided the 
Scotch were in denying all supremacy to the throne 
in spiritual things, the more they thought them- 
selves bound to render a loyal obedience in civil 
and political matters. The very readiness with 
which they threw themselves into the arms of a 
young and profligate despot, shows that their great 
principle of church independence proceeded from 
no revolutionary spirit ; but, on the contrary, from 
an unlimited and exclusive subjection to the lawful 
King of the church, to the Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. The Scotch carried their loyalty to an ex- 
treme in the spheres both of church and state. 



304 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

Happily, it is impossible to be too faithful to Him 
who is the King of kings, and to whom pertains 
the dominion of spirits. 

The same thing may be seen in our own days. 
While Ireland, for whose sake the British govern- 
ment is apparently sacrificing the ancient consti- 
tution of Britain, is, notwithstanding, in a state of 
permanent revolt, and can never raise itself from a 
condition of wretchedness, the causes of which are 
to be sought in popery itself, and not in any politi- 
cal arrangements ; Scotland, on the contrary, whom 
the same government has treated with a denial of 
justice which might have caused a whole people to 
revolt, has never raised an arm ; no, not a finger ; 
and has exhibited the astonishing spectacle of an 
entire nation, which, while agitating, praying, 
struggling for its most sacred rights trampled 
under foot by the powers of the world, has yet 
remained in order, in submission, and in peace. 
These are enigmas of which the Gospel alone 
furnishes the key. 

While Scotland was thus imprudently rushing 
into the arms of Charles II., God was still watch- 
ing over her. Deliverance was to come from the 
camp of her neighbours. Hardly had Charles, with 
perfidious hand, signed the Covenant, when the 
sounds of approaching war were heard, and the 
republican army of England, under the command 
of Cromwell, drew near to Edinburgh. 

The Scottish army was defeated by Oliver on 
the 3d September, 1650, near Dunbar. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 305 

It was necessary to repair this check. Two re- 
solutions were passed at Perth, in December, by 
virtue of which all the Scotch might be called to 
arms, — even those who hated the liberties of the 
church, and were desirous of favouring the despot- 
ism of the Stuarts, — the Malignants as they were 
termed. The strict Presbyterians protested against 
these resolutions ; and thenceforward, in Scotland, 
those were called Eesolutionists, who, although 
pious men, (Leighton was among their number,) 
were r in favour of the mixture, and for measures 
seemingly in accordance with the wisdom of the 
world ; and Protesters, those who added to their 
piety, unshaken principles and great decision of 
character. 

Charles was again obliged to fly to the Continent ; 
and Cromwell, the conqueror of Scotland, entrusted 
the pious minister, Gillespie, and some of his col- 
leagues, with the direction of church affairs. 

It was then that Scotland reaped the benefits of 
the Covenant. Piety and freedom reigned through- 
out the kingdom. The Scots, who anticipated still 
more fearful struggles, renewed their strength in 
communion with the Lord, and took courage in his 
Almighty power. Then followed ten of those years 
s which God grants to his people when He is about 
to call them to greater conflicts. Blessed is the peo- 
ple — let us bear this in mind! — blessed is the people 
of God, when they profit by such hours of grace, 
when peace neither enfeebles nor corrupts them ; 
and when at the moment of war they are to be found 

x 



306 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

having their loins girt about with truth, and having 
on the breastplate of righteousness ! (Ephes. vi. 14.) 
Inuring the rule of the Protector, Scotland enjoyed 
a profound peace. All the vitality of the kingdom 
seemed to flow into the church. " I verily believe/' 
says the historian Kirkton, " there were more souls 
" converted to Christ in that short period of time 
" than in any other season since the Reformation , 
" though of triple its duration." 

But Cromwell was dead; intrigues were again com- 
menced both in Scotland and England for the recall 
of Charles II. ; and on the 29th of May, 1660, that 
unhappy prince entered London in triumph, bring- 
ing with him for that Scotland which had first so 
loyally welcomed him, nothing but ruin and deso- 
tion. 

I here conclude the first period of the struggles of 
the Church of Scotland during the seventeenth cen- 
tury, — an epoch, signalised by important political 
events, by campaigns and battles. These I have 
almost entirely passed over in silence, because I 
have been especially desirous of recalling what may 
be instructive to the Church of God. 

There were in Scotland fighting men, but there 
was a still greater number of praying, loving, long- 
suffering men. This is the victory for which the 
church of our time is called upon to fight. 

On emerging from the middle ages, political and 
spiritual matters were so mixed up together, that 
it was sometimes impossible not to defend heavenly 
things with earthly weapons. But for the last three 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 307 

centuries, whatever may be said, a great purification, 
a great separation, has taken place. See, in Scot- 
land itself, the Free Church of our day ! her rights 
are infringed in the eyes of her adherents ; and yet 
they have not fought ; they have sacrificed, prayed, 
and suffered. 

This is the spiritual warfare we are called upon to 
wage. But who are those among us who profit by 
the lessons of history ? Where are they who, like 
Rutherford, love the salutary mixture of grace with 
the most bitter trials? — who rise at midnight to 
pray for hours like John Welsh ? who, like him, 
rush between fighting men to make peace ? — 
and who, like Livingston, have seen in one day, five 
hundred or a thousand turned to God by their zeal 
and faithfulness? Where are they who know, as 
these men did, that Jesus reigns ; that His kingdom 
is in this world the greatest of realities ; that there 
is no other whom we must obey ; and that we 
should be ready, rather than bow the head under a 
foreign yoke, to go even into prison or to banish- 
ment ? 

Oh ! how little are we. Alas ! our faith is often 
a pictured Christianity, but no reality. We must 
profit by the lessons of history. God has set before 
us things which, as St. Paul says, are ensamples 
unto us. " Take heed how ye hear." 



x 2 



308 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

CHAP. VII. 

SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. PRELACY OF LAUD. 

Second Period. 1660 to 1700. 

1. Individualism and Catholicism. Babylonish Captivity. 
23d August 1660. Middleton and his Parliament. Martyrdom 
of Argyle. Of Guthrie. Of Govan.— 2. Act of 1662. The 
Four Prelates. Order to the Ministers. Journey and Banquets. 
Act of Glasgow. Kesolution of the Ministers. The last 
Sunday. John Welsh. Blackadder. Peden. — 3. Delay 
granted. The Curates. Their Arrival. Horse and Foot. 
Before and After. Co-operation of the Curates and the 
Garrisons. Soldier -judges. A Military Expedition. — 4. Mid- 
dleton dismissed. Drag-net Act. High Commission Court. 
Pentland. Execution of M'Kail. First Indulgence. Act of 
1669. Second Indulgence and Blair. Retirement of Leighton. 
— 5. Presbyterian Conventicles. Cameron. The Duke 
of York. Spreul. Scarcity of the Word. Excommunication 
by Cargill. The Duke of Rothes. — 6. Testimony of Marion 
Harvey. Death of Cargill. The Killing Time. Decla- 
ration of 1684. The Sea and Margaret Wilson. John 
Brown and Claverhouse. General Persecution. — 7. Designs 
of James II. Peden's Wanderings. Act of Toleration. The 
last Martyr. The Pope's Godson. Revolution of 1688. 
Restoration of Presbyterianism and Abolition of Patronage. 
Communion of Saints. New Period and New Arms. 

I. 

THE FIRST MARTYRS. 

There are in Christianity two essential elements : 
the first is individualism ; the second is uni- 
versal sm. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 309 

The most important of these is individualism. 
It is indispensable that the individual, that you and 
i" should be Christians. I must address myself to 
obtain Christ and his Spirit as if there were no- 
thing but Him and me in the world. 

The second is universalism, which I should call 
Catholicism, if that word had not obtained a very 
different acceptation. It is necessary that the in- 
dividual having become a Christian by the operation 
of the Holy Spirit should enter into the communion 
of saints, knowing that " we are many member s, 
" but one body." 

Protestantism has more especially imposed on 
herself the work of individualism, while Popery, 
neglecting the individual point of view of Chris- 
tianity appeared (though falsely) to cultivate more 
carefully the universal and catholic side. 

If we, as Protestants, are the true individualists, 
we ought also to be the true catholics. And if this 
side of Christianity is too much neglected among 
us, it is the duty of the minister of the Word to 
bring it more powerfully before the mind. Ko, 
there is not here merely one soul, and there another 
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. There is an 
assembly of souls ; there is a church. There are 
not many members merely, — there is one body. 

In continuing to lay before you some portions of 
the church's history, one of my objects is, with God's 
assistance, to render more vivid among us the idea 
of Christian community. I do not think we can 
be edified in speaking merely of the work of Chris- 

x 3 



310 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

tian individualism. We must never cease to re- 
member that we are only different members placed 
under the same head, — a Head which is in heaven ; 
and the history of those who have faithfully realised 
this notion must surely afford us salutary edifi- 
cation. 

The second captivity of the Scottish church is 
about to commence, lasting from 1660 to 1688, 
that is, for twenty-eight years. Twenty-eight years 
are usually assigned to the former, from 1610 to 
1638 ; but thirty-eight may well be allowed for it. 
These two dismal periods were those of the cap- 
tivity of the church under the rule of the state, by 
means of Laud's Prelacy ; and Scotland has good 
reason for calling this time of mourning and suffer- 
ing the Babylonish captivity. 

Never, perhaps, has any church been called upon 
to maintain a more desperate conflict against state 
supremacy. The civil power was about to take up 
those weapons with which it hoped to subdue the 
church, and such weapons, we must remember, 
as have not been exclusively confined to the 
seventeenth century. Breaking into houses, vio- 
lence, blows, interdiction of worship, scattering of 
families^ imprisonment, fines, scourging, torture, 
banishment, drowning, the sword and the gallows, 
—none of these were to be spared by those Pharaohs 
who would crush the people of God, whether in 
Egypt, in Scotland, in Switzerland, or elsewhere. 

Were there even no other pages of Scottish 
history but those to which we have now to turn, 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 311 

we could understand why that country should con- 
sider the liberty of the church as the ark of the 
Lord, the keeping of which has been entrusted to 
her; and why, as soon as the state annihilates 
that liberty, the church exclaims in anguish, 
"Ichabod! the glory is departed from Israel, for 
" the ark of God is taken ! " 

On the 23d August, 1660, ten ministers and two 
elders were joining in prayer at a house in Edin- 
burgh, belonging to Eobert Simpson. Scotland 
was apprehensive of the storm about to burst upon 
her, and these pious men proposed presenting to 
King Charles II. an humble address, congratulating 
him on his restoration, reminding him of the cove- 
nant with the Lord which he had signed, and 
praying that his reign might be like those of David, 
Solomon, and Jehoshaphat. They intended send- 
ing round this address for the signature of their 
brethren; but on a sudden a party of soldiers 
entered, seized their papers, and conveyed them all 
to prison, which one of them, James Guthrie, never 
left but for the scaffold. " The enemy shall come 
" in like a flood, but the Spirit of the Lord shall 
" lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah, lix. 19.) 

The Earl of Middleton, a soldier of fortune, a 
coarse and haughty man, had been placed by 
Charles, as Lord High Commissioner, at the head of 
the Scottish government. He immediately called a 
parliament, of which the majority was composed 
of Malign ants, that is, a lovers of pleasure more 
" than lovers of God" (2 Tim. iii. 4.), and opposed 

x 4 



312 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

to the independence of the church. Bishop Burnet 
states that " those about the Earl of Middleton often 
" continued drinking through the whole night till 
" the next morning, and they came to parliament 
" reeling." Given up to debauchery during the 
night, they devoted themselves to despotism dur- 
ing the day. 

This parliament repealed and rescinded all the 
acts passed since 1633, that is to say, it annihilated 
the liberties of the state and of the church. A 
new act then announced his majesty's intention 
of establishing the church in a manner " most 
" suitable to monarchical government. ,, 

But this was not enough. The enemies of the 
church are at all times like each other. When 
King Herod saw the assemblies of the disciples 
prospering, not only at Jerusalem, but at Csesarea, 
did he not " stretch forth his hand to vex certain 
" of them, and kill James the brother of John, 
" and proceed further to take Peter also ? " 
Charles would do like Herod. He would strike 
at the Covenanters, who welcomed him at the time 
of his exile, and by terrible blows teach the Chris- 
tian people to bow down their heads, or else to die. 

At the head of the Presbyterian party was the 
Marquis of Argyle, the most illustrious of the Scot- 
tish nobles, who in 1650 had taken the principal 
part in the young king's coronation. Charles IT. 
disliked him, not only because he was unalterably 
faithful to the cause of the Presbyterian church, 
but also because he had sometimes rebuked him 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 313 

for his licentious behaviour ; and, because, having 
broken the promise he had made of marrying 
this nobleman's daughter, the king hated the 
father whom he had thus offended. Argyle was 
condemned to death. On hearing his sentence, 
this pious Scotchman arose and said :> " I had the 
" honour to set the crown upon the king's head, and 
" now he hastens me to a better crown than his own." 
The love of God filled his soul with heaA'enly 
joy. When the Marchioness and some of his friends 
exclaimed against the cruelty of his adversaries : 
" Forbear," he cried, " forbear! they may shut me 
u in where they please, but they cannot shut out 
" God from me." The Marquis foresaw that a fearful 
storm was about to burst upon Scotland ; he there- 
fore said to some of the ministers who were im- 
prisoned with him : " Mind that I tell it you : you 
" who are ministers will either suffer much or sin 
" much." Holy words, which ministers at all times 
would do well to lay to heart ! Argyle was natu- 
rally of a timid disposition, but God bestowed upon 
him great courage. On the day of his death, having 
dined with several ministers, he retired to his closet 
to seek Jesus his King. When he returned to the 
room : " What cheer, my lord ?" asked the minister, 
Hutchinson. u Good cheer, sir," he replied : " the 
" Lord hath again confirmed and said to me 
" from heaven, ' Son, be of good cheer, thy sins 
" ' are forgiven thee.' " When taking leave of 
his friends to go to the scaffold, he said to them: 
" I could die like a Roman, but choose rather to 



314 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" die as a Christian." He said to the multitude: 
" God hath laid engagements upon Scotland; we 
u are tied by covenant to religion and reformation. 
" It is the duty of every Christian to be loyal, yet 
" I think the order of things is to be observed. 
" Eeligion must not be the cockboat, but the ship ; 
" God must have what is His, as well as Csesar 
" what is his." The Marquis then prayed fervently, 
and bent his head to the axe of the executioner. 

But this was not sufficient. Charles, like Herod, 
must begin with more than one illustrious head. 
James Guthrie, minister of Stirling, was prosecuted 
for refusing to acknowledge the king's competency 
to judge in church matters, and condemned to die 
the death of a traitor. " My lord," said he to his 
judge, when this was announced to him, " my con- 
" science I cannot submit; but this crazy body and 
ft mortal flesh I do submit, to do with it whatsoever 
" you will." 

On the day of his execution, Guthrie, full of 
serenity and joy, addressed the people from the 
scaffold. " Jesus Christ," said he, " is my light 
" and my life, my righteousness, my strength, and 
" my salvation, and all my desire ; Him, oh ! Him, I 
u do with all the strength of my soul commend 
" unto you ! Bless him, my soul ! Now let thy 
" servant depart in peace, since mine eyes have 
" seen thy salvation." When a napkin was thrown 
over his face at the fatal moment, he boldly raised 
it, and exclaimed, u The covenants, the covenants 
" shall yet be Scotland's reviving ! " 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES* 315 

At the foot of the scaffold stood a soldier, Cap- 
tain Go van, sentenced to die at the same time 
as Guthrie. When the martyr had been hanged, 
the captain's turn came. " It pleased the Lord," 
said he, " in the fourteenth year of my age to 
" manifest his love to me, and now it is about 
" twenty-four years since, all which time I pro- 
" fessed the truth which I suffer for, and bear tes- 
" timony to at this day. I am not afraid of the 
" cross, it is sweet ; otherwise, how durst I look 
" upon the corpse of him who hangs there with 
" courage, and smile upon those sticks and that 
" gibbet as the gates of heaven. I die confident 
" in the faith of the prophets and apostles, bearing 
" my testimony to the Gospel as it is now preached 
" by an honest ministry. I bear witness with my 
" blood to the persecuted government of this 
" church in General Assemblies, Synods, and 
" Presbyteries." Then drawing a ring from his 
finger, he gave it to one of his friends who stood 
beside him on the scaffold, saying : " Take it to 
" my wife, and tell her, ' He died in humble confi- 
" $ dence, and found the cross of Christ sweet.' " 
To some one bidding him, " Look up to Christ," he 
answered : " He looketh down and smileth upon 
u me." When the cord was put round his neck, he 
said : " Now I am near my last, and I desire to 
" reflect on no man : I would only acquaint you of 
" one thing. The Commissioner and I went out to 
H the fields together for one cause ; I have now 
" the cord about my neck, and he is promoted to 



316 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" be his Majesty's Commissioner ; yet, for a thou- 
" sand worlds, I would not change lots with him ; 
" praise and glory be to Christ for ever ! " He 
gave the signal and died. He was indeed a valiant 
captain. " He that ruleth his spirit is better than 
" he that taketh a city." 

Other martyrs now followed to the scaffold these 
three men, — the most illustrious of nobles, the 
most fervent of pastors, and the most courageous 
of soldiers. 



II. 



THE DISRUPTION. 

These horrible executions were as the exordium 
by which it was proposed to introduce the abolition 
of the freedom of the church. Due warning having 
thus been given, an act was passed, in 1662, for the 
restoration of the government of the church by 
archbishops and bishops. This act had at least the 
merit of sincerity. It declared that " the ordering 
" and disposal of the external government of the 
" church doth properly belong to his majesty, as 
" an inherent right of the crown, by virtue of his 
" royal prerogative and supremacy in ecclesiastical 
" causes." It was not intimated by this act, that 
the church was mistaken in asserting her inde- 
pendence ; that her claims were new, unheard-of, 
or monstrous: on the contrary, it acknowledged 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 317 

" acts of parliament by which the sole and only 
" power and jurisdiction within this church doth 
" stand in the church, and in the General, Provin- 
" cial, and Presbyterial Assemblies and Kirk Ses- 
H sions." But this organisation was rescinded and 
annulled, and archbishops and bishops substituted, 
who were " to be accountable to his majesty for 
" their administrations." 

The theory being thus settled by the right of the 
strongest, it was necessary to put it in practice, 
and for this purpose to set up bishops. Four men 
went from Scotland to seek ordination in London 
from the successors of Laud. These were Sharp, 
a cunning, deceitful, and ambitious man, who had 
been the prime mover of these alarming invasions ; 
Fairfoul, alike vain and facetious ; Hamilton, a 
weak and unprincipled person ; and Robert Leigh- 
ton, one of the most amiable and pious of men, 
the author of that admirable Commentary on 
the First Epistle of St. Peter, which will edify 
the church to the end of time. It was doubtless 
hoped that so Christian a man would bring over 
many minds to the system of Charles II. In 
all periods, one of the stratagems of the enemies 
of the Gospel has been to attach to their party 
some pious and respected individual, whom they 
use as a bait to draw simple souls within their 
snares. Yet another reflection presents itself, 
which we will not keep back. If Leightgn was to 
be found in such ranks, it must be acknowledged 
that in the most detestable systems and under the 



318 



HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



most shameful yoke, some candid Christian souls 
may yet be found. 

They began by ordaining, as deacons and priests, 
those of the four candidates who had only received 
presbyterian ordination, which they would not re- 
cognise; then all four were consecrated bishops, 
and, after the fashion of Charles II., the day was 
concluded with a feast, which shocked Leighton's 
pious feelings. After this, getting into the same 
coach, the four new prelates set out for Ber- 
wick. There Leighton, tired of the conversation of 
his brethren, and ashamed of their society, left 
them, and proceeded alone to Edinburgh, unwilling 
to submit to the degradation of the pompous entry 
which the rulers had prepared. It was not in 
such a manner that his Master had entered Jerusa- 
lem. Thus, the coach of Prelacy wanted one of 
its four wheels, and the only good one, when it 
paraded the streets of the Scottish metropolis. 
This was enough to make a man forebode that, 
though it now seemed to be going on pretty 
smoothly, it would upset before long. Just then 
it only seemed necessary to whip up the horses 
smartly; and this the parliament and the privy- 
council hastened to do. 

There were at length prelates in Scotland; but 
there were also ministers — many pious presbyterian 
ministers — determined to receive from the state 
no ecclesiastical constitution ; more especially no 
constitution against their conscience and the laws 
of their church. A collision between the bishops 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 319 

and the ministers became inevitable ; the question 
was only to which side the victory would incline. 

The state proceeded with all speed ; and an Act 
was passed commanding every minister to repair 
punctually to the diocesan assemblies in which the 
bishops, whose number had now been increased to 
ten, were to preside ; and declaring seditious all 
assemblies held by those ministers who would not 
submit to the prelates. All free meetings for wor- 
ship or prayer were prohibited in Scotland. Such, 
in the seventeenth century, was the tyranny of 
Charles II. 

Among Charles's courtiers was the Earl of 
Lauderdale, a deserter from presbyterianism and 
from liberty. This nobleman was growing more 
and more in the king's favour, and threatened 
to ruin his rival, Middleton. The latter resolved 
to ward off the blow by redoubling his zeal for 
enslaving the church. He, therefore, undertook a 
journey into the western counties, and entered 
Glasgow attended by nobles, officers, mace-bearers, 
trumpets, and drums. He was every where re- 
ceived with almost kingly honours. The Word of 
God declares that " a man that transgresseth by 
" wine is a proud man.' (Hab. ii. 5.) It forbids 
bishops, and even deacons, to be given to excess in 
wine. Nevertheless, during this tour, which was 
intended to establish the prelatic rule, these sacred 
commands were quite forgotten. "Such who enter- 
" tained the commissioner best," says an historian, 
" had their dining room, their drinking room, and 



320 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" sleeping room, to which the guests were carried 
" when they had lost their senses." — " Woe unto 
" them," saith the prophet, " that continue until 
r night, till wine inflame them ! " It was amidst 
such disgraceful revelry that the ruin of the church 
was planned. 

Middleton, however, had to hear the grievous 
murmurs of Fairfoul, archbishop of Glasgow. 
" Notwithstanding the act of parliament," he com- 
plained, u not one of the young ministers entered 
v since 1649 has owned me as a bishop, or attended 
4 my diocesan courts. I have only the hatred which 
1 attends that office in Scotland, and none of the 
■ power. Your grace, therefore, behoves to fall upon 
\ some other and more effectual methods, otherwise 
c the new-made bishops will be mere ciphers." — 
? Propose what you like," said Middleton, " I will 
! heartily fall in with it." - — u Let then the council," 
suggested the prelate, " agree upon an act and pro- 
\ clamation, peremptorily banishing all these mi- 

4 nisters from their houses, parishes, and respective 

5 presbyteries, betwixt this and the 1st of No- 
f vember next, if they come not in to receive 
1 collation and admission from their bishop : and I 
• assure your Grace, that there will not be ten in 
! the diocese who will stand out, and lose their 
f stipend for this cause." Thus spoke the hireling, 

imagining that all the pastors of Christ's flock were 
like himself. 

The council immediately assembled at Glasgow, 
on the 1st of October. All the members, except 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 321 

one, Sir James Lockhart, " were so drunk that 
" day," says the English historian Burnet, " that 
M they were not capable of considering any thing 
" that was laid before them." This assembly was 
therefore termed " the drunken meeting." In vain 
did Lockhart affirm that the act demanded by the 
archbishop would throw the whole country into dis- 
order and desolation ; nothing is so headstrong and 
blind as the man who undertakes to persecute the 
church of God. The act was passed. The council 
not only struck at the pastors, but also decreed, 
that whosoever came to hear them, should be 
punished as frequenters of unlawful conventicles. 

A great number of ministers, amounting to nearly 
four hundred, thus saw themselves placed in the 
alternative of either submitting, as to spiritual 
things, to the decrees of the Lord High Com- 
missioner and his council, or of sacrificing their 
cures, their parishes, perhaps, their only means of 
subsistence, and of removing themselves and their 
families, in the month of November, with hearts 
filled with sadness, and empty purses, in search of 
some refuge from the severity of the king and of 
the winter. They were grave men of energetic 
temper, whose very appearance commanded respect. 
They had always been known to be occupied in 
visiting their parishes, in speaking and praying 
with their people, and bringing them to a know- 
ledge of the Scriptures. Their ministry had been 
so blessed, that cottagers and servants might every 
where be met with, able to lead worship, to read 

Y 



322 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

and explain the Word, and to pray extempore with 
great fervour. These servants of God did not 
hesitate. Thus also, in early times, in the city of 
Antioch, an attempt was made to subject the faith- 
ful to forms and ordinances contrary to the free 
Gospel of Christ. And though even an apostle, 
Peter himself, was among those who attempted to 
bring the Christians under an unlawful yoke, they, 
with Paul at their head, withstood him to the face. 
The Scottish Presbyterians did the same. They 
could not recognise in the state the claims it as- 
serted ; they could not, consistently with their con- 
sciences, take the oath of canonical obedience to 
the bishops. They declared that they were will- 
ing to obey the law, and quitted all they held 
dearest in the world. " You demand either our 
" consciences or our lives," said they ; " take, then, 
" our lives, our consciences are enough for us." 

This had not been expected : it had been thought 
that but few would be fooli'sh enough to sacrifice 
their livings for the sake of their faith ; and now an 
immense breach was made in the church, and 
unheard-of troubles were threatening it. Accord- 
ingly, when Middleton received this news at the 
palace of Holyrood, he burst into a dreadful rage, 
and not knowing that the just live by faith, 
exclaimed, with blasphemous oaths: "What will 
" these mad fellows do? " 

It was the last Sunday of October, 1662, a dreary 
and dismal day, in which nature herself seemed to 
sympathise with the sorrow of all hearts. " There 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

" was never so sad a Sabbatli in Scotland," says 
an historian. All the ejected ministers that day 
preached their farewell sermon to their flocks. In 
many places, the people were unable to control 
their feelings, — they wept, sobbed, and cried ; so 
that it might have been taken for the lamentations 
of a town stormed and sacked by an enemy, or the 
bitterness felt at the death of a first-born. (Zach. 
xii. 10.) 

This desolation began in the west, but it soon 
spread to the south and the centre of Scotland, so 
that a great extent of country was suddenly de- 
prived of comforter, guide, and worship, and left in 
complete spiritual destitution. 

The ministers quitted their much-loved flocks, and 
most of them repaired northwards, to the Highlands 
beyond the Tay, exposing themselves, with their 
wives and children, to all the inclemency of a 
Scottish winter. Their parishioners long followed 
them with their prayers ; and when, at last, they 
lost sight of them, they gazed mournfully on those 
sacred walls which alone remained to them, now no 
longer echoing to the Word of God. 

How many affecting scenes were taking place in 
the manses of Scotland ! Among the pastors, was 
the grandson of John Welsh, called John Welsh, 
after him. At the time of the ejection he was 
minister of Irongray. Maxwell was sent to ap- 
prehend him. The whole parish came together; 
men, women, and children clung to him, and fol- 
lowed him to the water of Chid en. Welsh, after 

Y 2 



324 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

prayer, mounted his horse, amidst the sobs and 
tears of the multitude, and rode quickly away, but 
many of his people ran after him, rending the air 
with bitter lamentations. 

John Blackadder, of the ancient family of Tullial- 
lan, was minister at Troqueer, near Dumfries. His 
church was situated on an eminence on the banks 
of the Nith, commanding an extensive and varied 
prospect. The minister had risen early to seek com- 
munion with the Lord. The atmosphere was heavy 
and lowering, and a thick fog covered the face of 
the earth like a grey mantle. Blackadder was pacing 
his garden with slow and pensive steps : his musings 
were often disturbed by the sound of the morning 
bells ringing from the neighbouring parishes. 
Those sacred accents, which had so often joyfully 
summoned the faithful to preaching and to prayer, 
seemed to be tolling the funeral knell of their expir- 
ing liberties, and reminded Blackadder and his bre- 
thren that they were to prepare to bid a sorrowful 
farewell to their flocks. He retired to his study, to 
seek strength for the approaching solemnity. He 
preached ; and, after the sermon, his parishioners 
expressed their determination to risk their lives 
in his defence ; but he conjured them not to give 
their enemies occasion to triumph over them. 
He spent the following week in visiting and com- 
forting his hearers, and left them on the Saturday, 
being unable to pass another Sunday among them. 
The next day the soldiers arrived. One of his sons, 
then a child, has related with great simplicity what 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. o25 

then took place. " A party of the king's guard of 
horse came from Dumfries to Troqueer, to search 
for and apprehend my father, but found him not, 
for what occasion I know not : perhaps, because 
he had overstayed the appointed day which had 
been fixed for him to remove with his numerous 
family of little children, ten miles from the parish. 
So soon as the party entered the close, and came 
into the house, cursing and swearing, we that 
were children were frightened out of our little 
wits and ran up stairs : and when I heard them 
roaring in the room below, like so many breath- 
ing devils, I had the childish curiosity to get 
down upon my belly, and peep through a hole in 
the floor above them for to see what monsters of 
creatures they were; and it seems they were 
monsters indeed for cruelty, for one of them, 
perceiving what I was doing, immediately drew 
his sword and thrust it up where I was peeping, 
so that the mark of the point was scarce an inch 
from the hole, though, no thanks to the murder- 
ing rufhan, who designed to run it up through my 
eye. Immediately after we were forced to pack 
up, bag and baggage, and remove to Glencairn, 
ten miles from Troqueer. We, who were the 
children, were put into cadger's creels, where one 
of us cried out, coming through Dumfries, \ I'm 
\ banisht, I'm banish t !' One happened to ask, 
\ Who has banisht ye, my bairn?' he answered, 
\ Bite-the-sheep has banisht me.' That was the 
name the child applied to the bishop." 



Y 3 



326 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

Alexander Peden had been for three years mi- 
nister of Newluce. On the day of his solemn de- 
parture he preached in the afternoon upon these 
words: "And now, brethren, I commend you to 
" God, and to the word of his grace/' (Acts,xx. 32.) 
All his hearers were in tears, when he announced 
to them that they would never see his face again in 
the flesh. He continued speaking until night. He 
then left the pulpit, shut it, and, striking on the 
door three heavy blows, he said thrice : " I 
a arrest thee in the name of my Master; and 
" mayest thou never be opened but by those who 
• enter through Him, who is the true door, as 
■ I have done." In fact, none of the curates (as 
they called the successors of the ejected pastors), 
or of the indulged ministers, ever entered this 
pulpit : it remained closed, according to Peden's 
words, till the Revolution of 1688, when a faithful 
Presbyterian reopened it. 



III. 

CURATES AND GARRISONS. 



On the 23rd of December the council of state 
assembled with the president, Middleton, at their 
head. Sensible of the mistake they had committed, 
the council consented to farther delay, and con- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 327 

tinued the ministers who were forced to quit their 
parishes to the 1st of February, that they might 
re-enter the national church, and submit to the 
rule of the bishops. Notwithstanding this adroit 
manoeuvre, the ejections were multiplied, and a 
still greater number of churches were left without 
pastors. 

This was a sore deprivation to a country so 
pious as Scotland, and the hatred of the people 
against the bishops who had caused this spiritual 
famine, was greatly increased. The faithful sought 
how they might supply the places of those beloved 
pastors. There were, in the country, a few old 
ministers, whose ordination had taken place at the 
time when bishops were established in Scotland, 
and who, having thus obtained episcopal sanction, 
had not been required to present themselves before 
the new bishops, and had, therefore, retained their 
places. Many of these were pious men. People 
came from distances of twenty miles to hear them. 
Many also of the ejected ministers were still within 
reach of their parishioners, who flocked to attend 
their family worship in such numbers, that it was 
generally requisite to leave the house, and assemble 
in the open air. 

It became necessary however to replace the ejected 
ministers. " There was a sort of invitation," says 
the English bishop, Burnet, " sent over the king- 
" dom, like a hue-and-cry, to all persons to accept 
" of benefices. The livings were generally well en- 
" do wed, and the parsonage-houses were well 

Y 4 



328 HISTOKICAL EE COLLECTIONS. 

" built, and in good repair. Therefore," continues 
the bishop, who certainly is a witness not to be 
doubted, " this drew many worthless persons 
" thither, who had little learning, less piety, and 
1 • no sort of discretion. The new incumbents, who 
" were put in the place of the ejected preachers, 
" were generally very mean and despicable in all 
" respects. They were the worst preachers I ever 
" heard ; they were ignorant to a reproach ; and 
" many of them were openly vicious. They were 
i c a disgrace to their orders and the sacred furic- 
" tions ; and, indeed, were the dregs and refuse of 
" the northern part. Those of them who rose 
" above contempt or scandal, were men of such 
u violent tempers, that they were as much hated as 
" the others were despised.'' Such is the picture, 
certainly no flattering one, drawn by Bishop 
Burnet ! 

These ministers were generally young men from 
the Highlands, who had scarcely studied divinity 
a year ; and who, having nothing to live upon, 
rushed into the vacant benefices, as a shepherd 
upon the sheep; "but only to shear them," says 
another historian. " Jeroboam," said the Scotch, 
who were well acquainted with the Bible, " Jero- 
" boam and his sons having cast off the Levites, 
" ordained himself priests for the devils, and for 
" the calves which he had made." (2 Chron. xi. 15.) 
So many of them came down from the wild parts 
of Scotland, that a gentleman of that country began 
to curse the Presbyterian ministers heartily ; " for," 









SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 329 

said lie, " since they have been turned out, we 
" cannot have a lad to keep our cows." These 
new ministers were called curates. 

The arrival of the curates in the deserted 
parishes, occasioned scenes still more deplorable 
than those of the departure of the ministers. In 
many places they were received with tears and 
entreaties to go away. In others they were 
welcomed with reasoning and argument that 
struck them dumb. Sometimes, also, less patient 
people had recourse to threats and insults. In some 
places the tongue of the bell was taken away, that 
the parishioners might have an excuse for not 
going to church ; in others, they barricaded the 
doors, so that' the curate was forced to climb in at the 
window. " He that entereth not by the door into 
" the sheepfold," said some concerning them, "but 
" climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief 
" and a robber." (John, x. 1.) On the other hand, 
the worldly and dissolute of the place, if there 
were any such, welcomed the curates gladly, and 
invited them to drink with them ; and they fre- 
quently became intoxicated in these orgies. This 
excited so much indignation, that some hot-headed 
people, and particularly a number of women (who 
were always among the most zealous of the Pres- 
byterians), proceeded, in several places, to oppose 
the entrance of the curates by force. But says, 
Wodrow : " Such who were really serious, mourned 
" in secret, as doves in the valleys." 

These receptions gave occasion to severe prose- 



330 HISTORICAL EECOLLECTIONS. 

cutions. Many were sentenced to heavy fines, to 
be scourged or banished to America. At the same 
time, the privy council, which had been taking 
lessons from Kome, decreed, that when a bishop 
was to settle a curate in a parish where the people 
were refractory, the bishop and the curate should 
be accompanied with a hundred horsemen and two 
hundred foot, of his majesty's guards, to settle by 
force the pastor of the state ; that the said horse 
and foot should live at free quarters in the parish ; 
or that the parishioners should pay them thirty 
shillings (Scotch) for each horseman, and twelve 
for each footman per diem ; and that these garri- 
sons should suppress by force all free meetings 
held by the faithful. This was done, in 1663, at 
Iron gray, where Welsh had been minister. Per- 
haps it was from this that Louis XIV. borrowed 
the model of his dragonnades. In the present day 
it is not the regular opposition of dragoons that 
is brought into use, but popular tumult and vio- 
lence. This, they say, is the age of progress.* 

But notwithstanding this coercion, the people, 
who were better acquainted with the Bible than 
their ignorant curates, refused to hear the hirelings 
imposed upon their consciences by the power of 
the state. Meetings in the open air became more 
and more frequent. All who were religious, and 
even respectable, throughout Scotland, were in 

* Alluding to what has been going on in the Canton de Vaud 
since the disruption of 1845. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 331 

favour of the banished ministers. I pause for a 
moment to exhibit two pictures ; one may be en- 
titled Before, the other, After. 

This is the picture presented by an historian of 
Scotland before the state undertook the government 
of the church. " Every parish in Scotland had a 
" minister, every village a school, every family, 
u and, in most places, every person, had a Bible. 
" Most part of ministers did preach thrice a week, 
" and lecture once, to say nothing of catechising 
u and other pastoral duties. A minister could not 
H be easy himself without some seals of his ministry 
" in the souls of his people, of which there were in 
" this period not a few. One might have lived a 
" good while in many congregations, and rode 
" through much of Scotland, without hearing an 
u oath. You could scarce have lodged in a house 
" where God was not worshipped by singing, read- 
" ing the Word, and prayer ; and the public houses 
" were ready to complain their trade was broke, 
" every body now was become so sober." 

Now look upon the other picture, the companion 
to this, representing the church as administered by 
Charles II. " Sometimes in the streets of Edinburgh 
" or Glasgow, coarse oaths were heard; this was from 
" the curates. Instances were sadly common of 
" their staggering in the streets and wallowing in 
" the gutters, even in their canonical habits ; and 
" this was conformable to Bishop Wishart's preach- 
" ing publicly, ' that he was not to be reckoned as a 
" drunkard who was now and then overtaken with 



332 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS ' 

" \ wine or strong liquor, but he only who made a 
" 4 trade of following after strong liquor.' The vile 
" practices of these people cannot be mentioned, 
" and one of them was executed for murder." 

At the same time the lowest of the populace 
employed themselves in hunting out, not only the 
conventicles, but even families celebrating domestic 
worship, and disturbed them by hootings and insults. 
Women and old men were cruelly beaten, and 
dragged either to prison or to the church, which 
was the same thing to them ; and hundreds of poor 
households were dispersed, and reduced to the most 
frightful misery. 

Nevertheless, the curates gave proofs of devoted- 
ness and zeal; not, it is true, to their Lord in 
heaven, but to their own master, Charles II. They 
made out a list of the members of their congrega- 
tion, not that they might visit them — this was no 
business of theirs, — but to facilitate the work of his 
Majesty's guards. On Sunday, after a very short 
and spiritless sermon had been delivered, the list 
was read from the pulpit, and the names of the 
absent were marked with a cross. The soldiers then 
made a pastoral visitation, quartered themselves in 
the houses, and imposed fines on the inhabitants 
without listening to any excuse. It sometimes 
happened that poor people, who did attend the 
church, were punished because those who had pre- 
viously occupied their lodgings were marked as 
absent in the curate's list. " It was our predeces- 

" sors," said they " No matter ! what is written 

" is written." 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 333 

Matters were quickly despatched. The curate ac- 
cused whomsoever he pleased to any of the officers, 
sometimes to a mere private. The soldier acted as 
judge, heard no witness, pronounced the sentence, 
and then executed it, managing to put a good 
round sum in his own pocket. These men, like the 
locusts of Egypt, covered the face of the country, 
and devoured its substance. 

Sometimes, on the Sunday morning, a great 
noise would be heard in the village public house ; 
it proceeded from the soldiers drinking and carous- 
ing round the tables. In this village, some good 
old minister might be living, who, for reasons I 
have already mentioned, had been allowed to re- 
main at his post without humbling himself to the 
bishop. Thither the faithful crowded from all 
quarters, and the church would be filled, which 
greatly enraged the bishops and their hirelings. 
All at once the soldiers would rise from table with 
great tumult, take up their arms, and run to the 
church door, a sentinel having come to inform 
them that the service was nearly over. These 
satellites would then carefully guard all the out- 
lets, and make the congregation pass one by one, 
like sheep to be counted. " Do you belong to this 
" parish?" asked they of each individual, and insisted 
on an answer upon oath. All who did not belong to 
the parish were fined, and robbed of all they had 
about them. If these poor Scotchmen had no 
money, " Give me your Bible," cried the soldiers ; 
or else they would take the men's hats and coats, 



334 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

and the women's caps and plaids. The military 
party then returned to their quarters, laden with 
spoil, laughing and blaspheming, as if they had 
been pillaging a town taken by storm. 

Sometimes the soldiers did not wait for the end 
of the service. One party would stand at one door 
of the church, and another at the other ; a third 
then entered, interrupted the worship, and some- 
times took to prison all who were not parishioners. 
This they would term a good haul of the drag-net. 



IV. 

TYRANNY AND INDULGENCES. 

At the sight of all these atrocities, a cry of 
indignation arose so loud, that it even reached 
England. Lord Lauderdale profited by this oppor- 
tunity to ruin his rival, Middleton, who had pre- 
sided over these tyrannical scenes. The king 
having ordered the suspension of the fines, the 
avaricious Middleton for some time kept back his 
Majesty's proclamation. Lauderdale therefore ac- 
cused him to Charles of having violated the royal 
prerogative. Middleton hastily repaired to Lon- 
don : his end was approaching ; the never- failing 
punishment of Heaven was about to fall upon him. 
An old country-woman, seeing him pass by at 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 335 

Coldstream, cried out to him : u Go thy way, go thy 
" way ! I tell thee thou shalt never return." Mid- 
dleton, however, went forward, and the king sent 
him to Tangier, where he soon after died. 

The management of affairs was then entrusted 
to Lauderdale. He appointed to the Presidency of 
the Council Lord Tweeddale, whose son had married 
his daughter, and who exerted a somewhat conci- 
liatory influence ; and the Earl of Rothes was named 
Lord High Commissioner. But the Church of Scot- 
land did not gain by this. The new government 
passed an act, sentencing whosoever should absent 
himself from the official worship to a fine equal to 
a quarter of his income, besides corporal punish- 
ment, as should be thought fit. This act was called 
" The Bishops' Drag-net." But the persecution of 
the church was not yet severe enough in the eyes 
of Archbishop Sharp. He thought the privy council 
was deficient in zeal in the suppression of Presby- 
terianism, and would have had that sect persecuted 
to the death. He therefore obtained from the king, 
in 1664, the re-erection of the Court of High Com- 
mission, to which all causes, ecclesiastical and civil, 
were to be referred, and, in particular, the judgment 
of the ejected ministers who dared preach, and of 
the faithful who dared listen to them. The curates 
became the agents and spies of this inquisitorial 
tribunal, and Sharp himself attended to the proper 
working of the machine. The soldiers undertook 
to lead the parishioners one by one to church, as 
galley slaves are driven to hard labour, and all were 



336 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

declared guilty of sedition who should give relief 
to an ejected minister, were he even dying with 
want. It was a saying of the Archbishop of Glas- 
gow, u The only way to be taken with these fanatics 17 
(such was the name bestowed upon them in the 
proclamations) — " is to starve them out ! "* 

They soon went even farther than this. On the 
13th of November, 1666, four countrymen, who 
were seeking to avoid the tyranny of this inqui- 
sition, were taking refreshment in the village of 
Dairy in Galloway, when they were informed that 
some soldiers were cruelly maltreating an old man, 
with the intention of making him pay a ruinous 
fine. They hastened to the place, and found the 
victim lying on the ground, bound hand and foot, 
and the soldiers employed in taking off his clothes, 
in order to execute the horrible threat they had 
uttered of stretching him naked on a red-hot grid- 
iron. At this hideous spectacle, the countrymen 
uttered a cry, and the soldiers threw themselves 
on them sword in hand : the troopers were dis- 
armed, and one of their number was wounded. 
Knowing the danger which menaced these generous 
men, the people of the neighbourhood rose in arms, 
and others soon joined them. But this sudden 
flame was speedily quenched in torrents of blood 
on the Pentland hills. 

A few of the Scottish nobles now began to grow 
weary of these horrors, and to lift up the voice of 

* The same expression has been also used in our own day, in 
an official document of the Canton de Vaud. 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 337 

humanity. An order from the king commanded 
the army to be disbanded, with the exception of 
the guards. The bishops and the curates were in 
consternation ; and Burnet, archbishop of Glasgow, 
(whom we must not confound with the English 
historian,) exclaimed : "Alas ! now that the army is 
" disbanded, the Gospel will go out of my diocese." 
Among the preachers who were then persecuted 
was Hugh M'Kail, a young man of amiable charac- 
ter, handsome person, distinguished talents, and 
holy life. He was a preacher when the 400 pas- 
tors were expelled from their livings; and in 
preaching he had said, that the church, persecuted 
in all ages, had always found among its enemies a 
" Pharaoh on the throne, a Haman in the state, and 
" a Judas in the church." Archbishop Sharp, 
having heard of this sermon, doubted not that he 
was the Judas himself, and immediately despatched 
a party of soldiers to seize M'Kail ; but the latter 
fled to Holland, where he remained four years. 
Returning to Scotland in 1665, and finding affairs 
worse than he had left them, he led a quiet 
and retired life in his father's house. There, far 
from the world, he wandered among the hills, the 
lonely pastures, and the peaceful valleys ; and alone, 
under the canopy of heaven, wept and prayed for 
his unhappy country. Soon after, the peasantry 
having taken up arms, as before mentioned, in 
defence of Presbyterianism, he joined them ; but 
being of a weak constitution, he was unable to 
endure the fatigue, and soon left them to return to 

z 



338 HISTOKICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

his solitude. He was on his way home, when he 
was seized by some dragoons at Braid Craigs, and 
brought to Edinburgh. He was there accused of 
rebellion ; and the council, with the view of extort- 
ing information which the free minister was unable 
to give, sent for the executioner, and announced to 
the prisoner that he was to undergo the horrible 
torture of the boot, M'Kail persisting in his state- 
ment, the executioner placed the young preacher's 
leg in this hideous instrument, which was a square 
wooden box, with movable plates inside. He then 
inserted a wedge between the frame and the plates, 
which he proceeded to drive in with a mallet, so as 
to produce the most excruciating pain. The mem- 
bers of the council who, sitting in their chairs, were 
coolly watching the horrid spectacle, again sum- 
moned M'Kail to make the disclosures they re- 
quired. It was in vain. Again the heavy mallet 
descended, and blow after blow followed ; the agony 
became every moment more insupportable, but the 
heroic martyr still possessed his soul in patience. 
His flesh was crushed, even to the bone. " If 
* all the joints of my body were in as great tor- 
" ture as that poor leg, I protest before God," said 
M'Kail, " that I can say no more." The blows 
recommenced, — the bone itself was crushed, — the 
martyr fainted ; he was carried back to prison, and 
soon after sentenced to death. 

On the evening before his execution, after supper, 
the preacher began to read the 16th Psalm : — " The 
" Lord himself is the portion of my inheritance, and 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 339 

" my cup." " If there is any thing I regret leaving 
" in this world," said he, " it is the reading of the 
" Scriptures." He then said to those around him, 
who were lamenting his death at so early an age : 
" My sufferings will do more harm to the prelates, 
" and serve more to the edifying of the people of 
" God, than I could do if I were a minister for 
" twenty years." His life was in Christ, and for 
him to die was gain. This faithful servant of God 
ascended the ladder to the scaffold, remarking with 
serenity : " Each step in this ladder is a degree 
" nearer heaven." The crowd was enormous : every 
street, every window was filled with sympathising 
spectators. Hearing the sobs of the people, he 
said : " Your work is not to weep, but to pray ; 
" and, that ye may know what the ground of my 
" encouragement in this work is, I shall read to 
" you the last chapter of the Bible." He then read 
the twenty-second chapter of Revelations, and added, 
" Here you see the glory that is to be revealed to 
" me ; a pure river of the water of life, the throne 
" of God and of the Lamb, his servants that serve 
" Him and that see his face : here is my access to 
" my glory and reward." After the executioner 
had put the rope about his neck, M'Kail said : " And 
" now I leave off to speak any more to creatures, 
" and begin my intercourse with God, which shall 
" never be broken off. Farewell, father and mo- 
" ther, friends and relations ; farewell meat and 
" drink ; farewell sun, moon, and stars ! AYelcome 
" God and Father; welcome sweet Jesus Christ, 

z 2 



340 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" the Mediator of the new Covenant ; welcome 
" blessed Spirit of grace, the God of all consola- 
" tion ; welcome glory, welcome eternal life, and 
"welcome death!" The soul of the martyr was 
caught up to heaven, the 2 2d of December, 1666. 
There is in the words of this sufferer an admirable 
mixture of the human and divine. When he bids 
farewell to nature, to his father, to his mother, we 
seem to hear a hero of antiquity ; but when lie hails 
Jesus, and the everlasting glory, we soon recognise 
the disciple of Christ. We know of no death in 
which these two elements are so beautifully united. 

Executions such as these pleaded powerfully in 
favour of the church and of liberty. In this mar- 
tyr was fulfilled the promise of the Word : " Inas- 
" much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, 
" happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God 
" resteth upon you" (1 Peter, iv. 14.); and the 
persecutors themselves were for an instant alarmed. 

Politicians then perceived that some concessions 
must be made, and that they must endeavour 
thereby to rend asunder the Presbyterian cause. 
On the 15th of July, 1669, Tweedale presented to 
the council a letter from the king, which was after- 
wards called the " The First Indulgence." This letter 
decreed that the privy-council should point out 
a certain number of the ejected ministers, u whose 
u conduct had been peaceable and orderly," to re- 
sume their former places, or, if they were occupied, 
to be settled in others ; that if they would submit 
to the collation of the bishop, they should also re- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES'. 341 

ceive the stipend of the parish, but if they would 
not, they should only have the manse and glebe ; 
provided always, that they would attend the dioce- 
san meetings held by the prelates. 

This was a concession : and accordingly the cruel 
Sharp hastened to console his friends by saying : 
" Never fear ; I will make this measure a bone of 
" contention to the Presb}^terians." 

Ten of the ejected ministers were comprehended 
in the first indulgence, which was afterwards ex- 
tended to forty- two. All made a sort of protesta- 
tion against the royal supremacy in ecclesiastical 
matters, but this precaution proved insufficient. 
These ministers, who were of the weakest, alleged, 
as their motive for accepting the indulgence, the 
advantages of peace, and the liberty they would 
enjoy of preaching the Gospel. But the result of 
the measure was to enfeeble and abase the church. 

This advantage being gained, they quickly ob- 
tained another. A parliament, which met on the 1 6th 
of November, 1669, passed an act, legalising the 
power of the state over the church (the Cesaropapia) 
in the most unlimited manner. Burnet thinks 
that Lauderdale, knowing the papistical opinions 
of the Duke of York, caused this statute to be en- 
acted, in order that the last of the Stuarts, when 
he should come to the throne, might establish 
Popery by a single decree. The parliament de- 
clared: " That his Majesty hath the supreme au- 
" thority and supremacy over all persons, and in 
" all causes ecclesiastical ; and that by virtue 

z 3 



342 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" thereof, the ordering and disposal of the external 
" government and policy of the Church doth pro- 
" perly belong to his Majesty ; and his successors 
" may settle, enact, and emit such constitutions, 
" acts, and orders, concerning the administration 
a of the external government of the Church, and 
" the persons employed in the same, and concern- 
" ing all ecclesiastical meetings, and matters to be 
" proposed and determined therein, as they in their 
" royal wisdom shall see fit." This act was the first 
which was annulled in 1690, at the Revolution, as 
being incompatible with the settlement of church 
govern meht. 

The pious but short-sighted Archbishop Leighton, 
who still occupied the same place, willing to bring 
the Presbyterians to Episcopacy by gentle means, 
obtained, in 1672, a second indulgence ; by virtue of 
which some of the ejected ministers were called 
upon to serve in a certain parish, without caring 
for the opinions of the flock in the elections. * My 
. Lord Chancellor," said Blair, taking from his 
hands the paper which presented him with a call 
of this kind, " I cannot be so uncivil as to refuse a 
" paper offered me by your lordships : but," he 
added, as he let it fall, " I can receive no instruc- 
y tions from you for regulating the exercise of my 
" ministry ; for if I should receive instructions from 
" you, I should be your ambassador, not the am- 
" bassador of Christ." The courageous minister 
was sent to prison, where he soon after died. 

The pious Leighton himself, who had always 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 343 

hoped and expected a more Christian conduct from 
the state, seeing, on the contrary, that things were 
going on from bad to worse, gave in his resignation, 
and retired to a peaceful retreat in England, where 
he died in 1684. Good men may for a time be 
liable to great mistakes ; but the day will at last 
arrive, when they will understand that it is impos- 
sible any longer to be associated with despotism 
and impiety. " Be not unequally yoked together 
" with unbelievers : what concord hath Christ with 
" Belial?" (2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.) 



[ 



V. 



THE FAINTING OF THE CHURCH. 

The Presbyterians, steadfast to their faith, and 
refusing to connect themselves with the acts of the 
government and the prelates, often assembled in 
the fields. Lauderdale waged an incessant warfare 
against these conventicles, letting loose upon them 
the Highlanders, whom he had brought down from 
their mountains, or raising in other quarters a for- 
midable army, which he paid with the money of the 
Presbyterians themselves. These meetings, there- 
fore, became less frequent, but also more numer- 
ously attended, and more alarming. In order to 
hold them, a strong position was taken up, senti- 

z 4 



344 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

nels were posted in the vicinity to watch the move- 
ments of the enemy, and give the signal for flight, 
or, if that was impossible, of open resistance. 
Sometimes the people met in a narrow and solitary 
valley, sometimes on a wild morass ; sometimes by 
day, sometimes by night. Thus there were in the 
open air, as afterwards in the deserts of Languedoc, 
solemn communions and times of refreshing ; dis- 
courses which the ministers delivered with so much 
ardour that it seemed as if their lips had been touched 
with a live coal from the altar (Isaiah, vi. 6.) ; and 
great multitudes experiencing the deepest con- 
trition. "We offered to the Lord the sacrifice of 
" thanksgiving," says a minister who often assisted 
at these solemnities, " and sang with a joyful voice 
" to the Rock of our salvation." On a sudden, the 
sentinels who were keeping guard upon the sur- 
rounding heights would give a note of alarm ; the 
singing ceased, the minister descended from the stone 
which had served him for a pulpit, and the people 
dispersed, " wandering in deserts, in mountains, 
" and in dens and caves of the earth, being desti- 
" tute, afflicted, tormented." (Heb. xi. 37, 38.) 

Soon after the general ejection a curate had been 
settled at Falkland. This man had, as precentor 
and schoolmaster, a native of the place, named 
Richard Cameron. The latter began to attend the 
field-meetings of the ejected ministers : he was con- 
verted, and left all for the sake of Christ. He fled 
to Holland, and after studying for some time was 
ordained to the holy ministry. The Low-Countries 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 345 

were, during the persecution of the latter part of the 
seventeenth century, what Geneva had been in the 
days of Knox, — the home and refuge of the children 
of God. After his ordination, Cameron returned to 
Scotland, and immediately associated himself with 
the strictest Presbyterians (to whom he gave his 
name), and who distinguished themselves by censur- 
ing the conduct of those who, by compliance, seemed 
to authorise the tyranny of the persecutors. Came- 
ron and his friends boldly declared that they dis- 
owned all authority which opposed itself to the 
Word of God ; and, in particular, that they would 
not acknowledge the usurpations of the king, who 
assumed ecclesiastical supremacy, attacked the only 
lawful dominion of Jesus Christ and his Word, and 
oppressed His subjects. 

Cameron was blessed in his ministry. He always 
preached as if he was never sure of preaching again. 
On the 2 2d of July, 1681, happening to be at a 
place in Ayrshire, called Aird's Moss, he was in- 
formed that a party of soldiers were approaching, 
and that neither he nor his friends could escape. 
The Presbyterians therefore prepared for resistance. 
Cameron uttered a short prayer, in which he thrice 
repeated this simple and pious expression, " Lord, 
" spare the green, and take the ripe!" He beheld 
the Lord of the harvest approaching with his sickle 
in his hand, preparing to reap the corn ; and en- 
treated Him to cut down those ears only which 
were ready to be carried into the heavenly garner. 
When he had ended his prayer, Cameron said to his 



346 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

brother : " Come, and let us fight it to the last ; for 
" this is the day that I have longed for, and the 
" death I have prayed for, to die fighting against 
" the Lord's avowed enemies ; and this is the day we 
" will get the crown." At that moment the royal 
troops charged the Presbyterians, and Cameron and 
his brother fell side by side. The enemy were desir- 
ous of taking this dreaded minister prisoner, in order 
to deliver him up to an ignominous death, but they 
were disappointed. To make amends for this, the 
dragoons cut off Cameron's head and hands, and 
carried them to Edinburgh on the point of a hal- 
bert. This minister's father was then in prison for 
the cause of the Gospel. They carried to his dun- 
geon these sad proofs of his son's death, and cruelly 
asked if he knew them. The old man took them 
respectfully, kissed them, and bathing them with his 
tears, exclaimed: "I know them, — I know them: 
" they are my son's, — my dear son's. Good is the 
a will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor 
" mine !" These remains of Cameron were exposed 
on one of the city gates, the hands placed near the 
head, and the fingers pointing towards heaven in 
the attitude of prayer. His headless body was 
thrown into a grave at Aird'sMoss, on a verdant hill, 
where a plain monumental stone points out the 
martyr's burial-place. He had experienced the 
truth of that saying addressed by the Master to an 
imprudent disciple, who, like Cameron, desired to 
take up the sword : " All they that take the sword 
" shall perish with the sword." (Matt. xxvi. 52.) 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 347 

All was now tending towards Popery. The Duke 
of York, heir presumptive to the crown, had for 
some years discontinued communicating at the 
Lord's Supper, even when bishops administered it : 
he required the Mass. It was also becoming more 
and more customary in England, to regard the 
abjuration of the Gospel, and submission to the 
Pope, as the proper and fashionable mode of 
dying. In 1673 the Duke of York married the 
Princess of Modena, a member of a family devoted 
to Eome. It was already reported that the Pope had, 
by a bull, appointed the future bishops of Britain. 
Papists filled the court. The agitation augmented 
day by day among the people. V One would have 
" thought," observes a contemporary, u that a dread- 
" ful comet had appeared in the sky." 

These things must be borne in mind, in order to 
understand the nature of the terrible struggles 
then going on in Scotland. Although the State 
and Prelacy were apparently the only oppressors, 
Popery was hidden behind them. 

The resistance to Popery had become so vigorous 
in England, that it was thought desirable to send 
the Duke of York for a time to a distance from 
London. This prince, who afterwards reigned by 
the title of James II., arrived in Scotland in 1681, 
the year of Cameron's death, and undertook the 
management of public affairs. It was then plainly 
shown what treatment James had in reserve for 
England, if he had been allowed to go on as he 
pleased. His influence in Scotland was marked by 



348 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

increased severity against the evangelical Christians. 
One of these, a layman named Spreul, was accused 
before the council over which the prince pre- 
sided, and frankly confessed his opinions. No sort 
of calumny was spared at that time against the re- 
formed Christians ; and a novelist of great cele- 
brity, who has shown, in his writings, that he was 
a stranger to the Christian spirit, has in our own 
day echoed these groundless charges. The justi- 
fication which Spreul pronounced in the presence 
of the royal duke may be considered as the justi- 
fication of all his brethren. " Whereas I am 
" sadly accused to' your lordships, as if I were 
" a man of king-killing principles, I declare I 
" would kill no man whatsoever, but upon self- 
" defence, which the law of Gocl and of nature 
" allows. I own the free preaching of the Gospel, 
" whether in the fields or houses, seeing it is writ- 
" ten, ' Without faith it is impossible to please 
" » God, and faith cometh by hearing.' I also own 
" Jesus Christ as the only Head of his church, 
" and King of saints, and disown all others pretend- 
" ing thereto." 

Spreul did still more : he retorted the accusation of 
regicide principles upon those who had made them. 
As the Duke of York rose from his throne and 
said to him, with a frown, " Sir, would you kill 
"the king?" the astonished Christian paused a 
moment ; and then turning towards the Chancellor 
(he was fearful of offending the Roman Catholic 
prince, by addressing this answer to him), he 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 349 

replied : " My lord, I bless God I am no Papist. 
" I loathe and abhor all those Jesuitical, bloody, 
i\ and murdering principles : neither my parents, 
" nor the ministers I heard, ever taught me 
" such principles." Spreul -was condemned to 
the torture of the boot. When this instrument 
was applied most of the nobles and judges pre- 
sent retired, that they might not witness it. 
This was not the case with the Duke of York, 
who remained, and watched his victim's agonies 
with cruel eyes. The English bishop, Burnet, 
says, " he looked on all the while with an un- 
" moved indifference, and with an attention as if 
F he had been to look upon some curious experi- 
" ment." * 

These cruelties were not without effect. There 
was a great dearth throughout Scotland. " The 
" Word of the Lord was rare in those days." 
(1 Sam. iii. 1.) The dragoons scoured the country, 
and the faithful, " of whom the world was not 
|f worthy," were wandering in the deserts. 

After the death of Cameron, Donald Cargill was 
for some time almost the only minister who dared 
preach in the fields. " The blood-stained banner," 
says an historian, "which fell from Cameron's 
ft dying hand, was caught up and borne aloft by 
" Cargill with unshrinking resolution." He preach- 
ed boldly to his countrymen Jesus Christ crucified. 
Perhaps he went too far. Persecution generally 
dtaO fLBffio jxiotlo to IijItj; 

* Burnet's Own Times, ii. p. 424. 



350 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

excites the persecuted; and the persecutors and 
the worldly-minded then coldly and meanly re- 
proach them with their excitement. Cargill, the 
only representative of the Scottish Presbyte- 
rianism, as if he himself had been a whole synod, 
a whole general assembly, filled with horror at 
the persecutions of his people and his faith, at 
a field-preaching at Torwood, in Stirlingshire 
(September 1680), solemnly pronounced sentence 
of excommunication against the king, his brother, 
the Papist Duke of York, and five of the chief 
lords who oppressed Scotland, among whom was 
the Duke of Rothes. This sentence, after all, 
signified but little. The king and his brother 
cared not for the Presbyterian communion, and 
greatly preferred that of the Pope. Yet, however 
exaggerated Cargill's proceedings may have been, 
we cannot help acknowledging in them great 
courage and fidelity. 

He had spoken out. As a" watchman of the 
" house of Israel," he had *" warned the wicked 
" from his evil way " (Ezek. iii. 18.) ; and it was not 
wholly in vain. The Duke of Rothes, one of the 
excommunicated, having fallen dangerously ill a 
few months afterwards, sent for some Presbyterian 
ministers. The Word pronounced in the wilderness 
of Stirlingshire, like that which was uttered in the 
wilderness of Judea by the prophet in the raiment 
of camel's hair, with the leathern girdle, weighed 
upon the consciences of the rulers of the people. 
" We all thought little of what that man did in 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 35 i 

" excommunicating us/' said the dying duke, " but 
" I find that sentence binding upon me now, and 
" it will, I fear, bind me to all eternity." One 
of the evangelical ministers, moved with compas- 
sion for the sinner who had so long, as Lord High 
Commissioner, been at the head of the persecution of 
his people, then declared to the agonised and terri- 
fied duke, the expiation of the blood of the Lamb, 
" which cleanseth from all sin," and fervently 
prayed for repentance and faith for the dying 
nobleman. In the adjoining room were several lords 
and bishops. Hearing the voice of prayer, they broke 
off their conversation, and there was a moment 
of silence. They were astonished : " That is a 
" Presbyterian minister praying," said one of the 
noblemen; and then, turning to the bishops, he 
added : u there is not one of you can pray as they 
" do, though the welfare of a man's soul should 
" depend upon it." — " We banish these men from 
" us," said the Duke of Hamilton, " and yet, when 
" dying, we call for them." Happy is the persecutor 
and blasphemer who, like the royal commissioner, 
calls for the Word of God ; or, rather, whom the 
Word of God seeks out, were it even at the eleventh 
hour ! 






352 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



VI. 

THE KILLING TIME. 

No king ever had ministers and servants so 
ready to sacrifice their lives for him, as Jesus 
Christ had, at that time, in Scotland. No crown 
was ever so steadfastly upheld by its subjects. 

The persecution was not confined to the minis- 
ters only, but extended also to their hearers, and 
even to women. Two young persons, Isabel Alison 
and Marion Harvie, were accused of having been 
present at Cargill's field preachings. Marion was a 
young girl of twenty. " At fourteen or fifteen," 
she said to her judge, " I was a hearer of the 
" curates, and then I was a blasphemer, and a chap- 
" ter of the Bible was a burden to me." — "I bless 
" God, Isabel," she remarked to her friend, " that He 
u has given me life that I may lay it down for his 
" name's sake. If I could live a thousand years 
" by forsaking the truths of the Gospel, I would 
" not give up one." When led to the scaffold, 
these two Christian maidens sang the 23d Psalm, 
" The Lord is my Shepherd ; " and the 84th — 

" How lovely is thy dwelling place, 
O Lord of Hosts, to me ; 
My very heart and flesh cry out, 
O living God, for thee ! " 

When about to be executed, Marion Harvie, wish- 
ing to testify what was the faith for which she was 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 353 

to lay down her life — the doctrine of the true 
Head of the church — exclaimed: "I am brought 
" hither this day for having confessed, as I still do, 
" that Jesus Christ is the King of Sion, and the 
" Head of his people ! " After this she died, on the 
26th of January, 1681. Thus did country girls in 
Scotland feel themselves called upon to maintain 
the same truth as the doctors and leaders of the 
flocks. 

A more noted victim was now to fall by this 
persecution. Cargill, hunted from place to place, 
was still preaching in the most secluded districts. 
For this purpose he often had to take long and 
painful journeys. One Sunday, having walked all 
the morning to reach the place where the people 
were to assemble at Tinto Hill, he arrived fatigued, 
thirsty, and almost fainting. An old man, coming 
from the crowd, offered him, in his blue bonnet, a 
little cold water from a neighbouring spring. The 
minister drank it, and, without any other refresh- 
ment, preached the whole day. On the 10th of July 
he proclaimed the Gospel at Dunsyre Common, and 
slept at Covington Mill. But his enemies were on 
the watch. At daybreak a troop of dragoons sur- 
rounded the mill, seized the preacher, and carried 
him to Edinburgh, where, being led before the 
council, he was condemned to death. " I am," said 
he, " a Christian, a Protestant, a Presbyterian ; and 
" I die testifying against Popery, Prelacy, Eras- 
a tianism, and all manner of defection from the 
" truth of God." When led to the scaffold, he 

A A 



356 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

themselves for some time in the moors. They had 
left these wilds, and taken refuge with the widow 
M'Lauchlan, when they were apprehended while 
committing the crime of praying. The old woman 
and the young girl were tried and condemned to 
death, and for their execution a torture of a special 
kind was chosen. Near Blednock, two large stakes 
were driven into the sea, a few paces from the 
shore ; and at low water the two women were tied 
to them, care being taken to place the young girl 
higher than the widow, that she might perish the 
last, and thus witness the death of her aged friend. 
When this was done, the soldiers stood on the 
shore, carelessly leaning on their halberts, and sur- 
rounded by a great crowd of people, waiting until 
the rising tide, that new executioner of the ven- 
geance of the prelates and the privy council, should 
slowly engulph these sainted victims. Soon, in- 
deed, did the waves roll onwards, and, in the sight 
of the young gir], they slowly but inevitably rose 
and covered the body of the Christian widow. 
One after another they covered her limbs, her 
bosom, her neck, her lips. By this means it was 
intended to terrify Margaret Wilson, and subdue 
her. But, looking serenely upon her venerable 
friend, she exclaimed, & What do I see but Christ, 
" in one of his members, wrestling there ? Think 
" you that we are the sufferers ? No : it is Christ 
"in us ; for He sends none a warfare on their 
" own charges." The Christian maiden thus con- 
tinued praying and witnessing for Christ, while the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 357 

cold and cruel waves were rising round her own 
body. She then began to sing the 25th Psalm, 
" To thee I lift my soul, Lord ;" and afterwards 
repeated part of the eighth chapter of the Epistle 
to the Romans, " Who shall lay any thing to the 
fS charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. 
" Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
" died ;" and some verses following. She thus con- 
tinued speaking until the ocean covered her head 
and choked her utterance. Her torturers then ran 
towards her, and, while she was yet breathing, 
cut the cords, and drew the young Scotch girl 
from the waves. They laid her on the shore, and 
waited till she was restored to consciousness. 
On being asked if she would not pray for the 
king, she replied : "I wish the salvation of all 
a men, and the damnation of none." — " Dear Mar- 
" garet," cried one of the spectators with emotion, 
only say, " God save the king ! " She answered 
calmly, as one who neither wished for life nor 
feared death : " God save him, if He will, for it is 
" his salvation I desire." Her relations and friends, 
in a transport of joy, turned quickly to Major 
Windram, who superintended the execution, " Oh, 
" Sir, she has said it, she has said it ! " But 
the major required her to take the abjuration oath, 
in which the papist, James II., was to be acknow- 
ledged as head of the church. Firm in her 
faith, she replied : " 1 will not. I am one of Christ's 
" children. Let me go !" The soldiers again threw 
her into the sea, where she perished, and entered, 

A A 3 



358 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

at last, into the rest that remaineth to the people 
of God. 

But this was not the end. Persecution sought 
out the most sober Christians. At Priesthill, in 
Ayrshire, lived a plain and pious man, John Brown 
by name, who earned his living by the occupation 
of a carrier. Although he had never openly re- 
sisted the state, he was hated by the prelatic party, 
on account of his attachment to evangelical prin- 
ciples. His solitary cottage had sometimes shel- 
tered a persecuted minister; he did not attend 
the service of the curates ; and on Sunday even- 
ings, he would assemble a few children to instruct 
them in the knowledge of the Bible. This school, 
in that lonely part of Scotland, was the first of the 
Sunday schools in Britain, and perhaps in the 
evangelical world. Brown had preceded Raikes. 

Glaverhouse, whom Walter Scott has trans- 
formed into a hero, but who in history is nothing 
but a man of violence and a persecutor, seeing the 
fidelity of this Christian, vowed his destruction. 
On the 1st of May, 1685, Brown having just cele- 
brated domestic worship, between six and seven in 
the morning, was on his way to work, when three 
troops of dragoons came galloping towards him, 
with Claverhouse at their head. They brought 
him back to his house, saying to him : " Go to 
" your prayers, for you shall immediately die." 
He knelt down upon the heath, and prayed aloud 
with so much fervour that the soldiers were quite 
affected. Thrice did the impatient Claverhouse 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 359 

interrupt him, saying: "I gave you time to pray, 
" and ye have begun to preach." During this 
interval, Brown's wife, hearing a noise, had come 
out of her cottage, carrying an infant in her arms, 
and a little girl, frightened at the sight of the 
soldiers, clinging to her gown. " Take good night 
" of your wife and children," said Claverhouse. 
Turning to his wife, he said : " Now, Isabel, the 
" day is come that I told you would come, when 
" I spake first to you of marrying me." — " Indeed, 
ft John," she answered, " in this cause I am willing 
" to part with you." Brown then kissed his wife 
and children, and Claverhouse commanded his 
troopers to fire. But the martyr's prayers had 
touched the hard hearts of the soldiers of the 
papist James : they refused to act the part of 
executioners, to which however they were well 
accustomed. Walter Scott's hero, enraged at this, 
took a pistol from his saddle-bow, and at once shot 
dead the disciple of Jesus. Then turning to her 
whom he had just made a widow, he said, in a 
tone of mockery : " What thinkest thou of thy 
" husband now, woman ?" Isabel replied, " I ever 
" thought much of him, and more now than ever." 
Claverhouse set spurs to his horse, and the horror- 
struck dragoons galloped off after him, leaving 
Isabel alone with the corpse. She laid her infant 
on the ground, gathered the scattered brains of her 
beloved husband, and taking the handkerchief from 
her neck, bound up the head, which had been 
shattered to pieces by the Jacobite's pistol. Then 

A A 4 



360 HISTOEICAL KECOLLECTIONS. 

laying out his lifeless body, she covered it with 
her plaid, and sat down beside it, with her baby 
on her lap ; and clasping in her arms the little girl, 
who filled the air with her cries, she herself burst 
into tears. On that desert spot, there was not a 
neighbour, not a friend to assuage the widow's sor- 
rows. Amidst this desolation of the wild heath and of 
death, she had none with her but her God ; but He 
was a present God, and His might gave strength 
to her heart. 

Claverhouse, " yet breathing out threatenings 
x and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" 
(Acts, ix. 1.), overran other counties. Persecution 
was raging everywhere. If the soldiers found a 
man reading the Word in the fields : f Thou art a 
u rebel," said they : " thou art reading the Bible !" 
and thereupon they killed him. They threatened 
little children that they would roast them alive, to 
make them tell where their parents were concealed. 
Four hundred and ninety-eight Christians thus 
perished without form of law. Eighteen hundred 
had to endure torture of different kinds. Seven- 
teen hundred were banished. Great numbers were 
sent to the colonies as slaves, and two hundred of 
these were drowned. But nothing could subdue the 
fortitude of the martyrs. One of them, who was shot 
in the fields, exclaimed : " If I had as many lives 
" as hairs on my head, I would willingly suffer as 
" many deaths for the sake of Christ and his 
" cause." — " They were tortured, not accepting 
" deliverance, that they might obtain a better re- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 361 

" surrection : and others had trial of cruel mock- 
" ings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds 
u and imprisonment ; they wandered about desti- 
" tute, afflicted, tormented. Yet they ran with 
" patience the race set before them, looking unto 
" Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith." 
(Heb. xi. 35, 36. ; xii. 1, 2.) 

The king thought that the country was now 
prepared for the change he had in view. Kegard- 
ing the Presbyterian Church as the greatest ob- 
stacle to the restoration of Popery, he had directed 
every effort against it. He imagined, that when 
once Episcopacy was set up in the place of Pres- 
byterianism, both bishops and church would wil- 
lingly submit to the Pope. He was mistaken, at 
least in England. The majority of the English 
Episcopalians were good Protestants, determined 
to resist Kome and her hierarchy. 

James II., nevertheless, was advancing, step by 
step, towards Popery. He exempted the Papists 
from the Test, which was still required from the 
Presbyterians. He abolished the penalties and dis- 
abilities to which the partisans of the Pope had 
been subjected (an act which from another prince 
would have had quite a different meaning), and 
uttered in parliament a eulogium on their loyalty, 
and other virtues. 

At the same time (this was in 1686) the revo- 
cation of the edict of Nantes was taking place in 
France, and filling all the Protestants of Europe 
with horror at the Papacy. Amidst these agita- 



362 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

tions, on the 21st of August, the king, in a letter 
addressed to the privy-council of Scotland, ordered 
the Popish worship to be set up in the chapel of 
Holyrood, and appointed the chaplains who were 
to perform it. 

All now seemed prepared for the work of dark- 
ness intended by the pontifical sectarian then 
seated on the throne of Elizabeth. Most of the 
witnesses for the truth had disappeared. The 
sword, the gallows, torture, hardships, exile, and the 
call of God, had swept them from the land. There 
now remained but a few lights, glimmering here 
and there through the darkness, which the hand 
of death was about to quench for ever. 

The friend of Cameron, that Alexander Peden, 
who at New Glenluce had shut his pulpit, was still 
alive. After leaving his church, the pulpit of 
which remained closed, he had wandered over the 
wilds of Scotland, but without preaching, From 
time to time his mouth gave utterance to some 
mysterious and significant sentences only, which 
led to his passing for a prophet with many. 
" Pray much," said he to those who entreated him 
to preach, " it is only a praying people that will 
" weather the storm. Fearful days are coming 
" on Scotland, and my heart fails me when I think 
" of the judgments about to fall on those hirelings 
" whose words kill the soul. Scotland, Scotland ! 
" must it be that some of thy ministers should 
" consent to take the crown from Christ's head ?" 

One day Peden went to Aird's Moss; he climbed 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 363 

the hillock on which stood the grave of his friend 
Richard Cameron ; and, exhausted by his suffer- 
ings, sat clown beside the tomb, clasped his hands 
over the stone, raised his tearful eyes to heaven, 
and exclaimed repeatedly : " that I were with thee, 
" Richard ! " He groaned, " earnestly desiring to 
" be clothed upon with his house which is from 
" heaven." (2 Cor. v. 2.) After long wandering 
from place to place, Peden, feeling the time approach- 
ing when his " earthly tabernacle should be clis- 
a solved," and he should be transported to " a house 
" eternal in the heavens," returned to his brother's 
house in his native village, where he caused a cave 
to be dug, the opening to which was concealed by 
a thick bush. There he dwelt in prayer and holy 
meditation. The enemy came many times to seek 
for him in order to put him to death, and searched 
the house in vain. " When I am dead," said he, 
mournfully, " bury me at Aird's Moss, beside 
" Richard, that I may find rest in his grave, for I 
" have had none in my life. However, wheresoever 
" you bury me, I shall rise again." Soon after, he 
expired, in 1686, the same year in which the 
Popish worship was set up in the capital by order 
of the king. Peden, who had closed his own pulpit 
against error, was not fated to behold it invading 
the ancient palace of Scotland. 



364 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 



VII. 

THE REVOLUTION. 

Great events were now rapidly hurrying on, 
and liberty was soon to be restored to the people 
of God. The perfidious James granted a general 
toleration, for the two-fold purpose of favouring 
the Papists, and of seeing the Protestant sects 
devour one another, as he hoped they would, that 
he might afterwards build up the Church of Kome 
upon their ruins. The Presbyterian ministers took 
advantage of this edict to gather together their 
dispersed congregations. But another cruel blow 
remained to be struck. 

Some of the ministers had refused to accept the 
royal amnesty. Among these was James Ren wick, 
who was apprehended at Edinburgh on the lsfc of 
February, 1688. His youth (he was only twenty- 
six years of age), the simplicity of his manners, 
the beauty of his person, and the candour of his 
answers, excited in his favour the compassion and 
respect even of his judges; he was, nevertheless, 
condemned to death. When asked if he desired 
any delay, he answered, " It is all one to me ; if 
" it be prolonged it is welcome : my Master's time 
" is the best." On the 17th of February he was 
led to the scaffold. He was forbidden to pray, 
or to address the people ; but refusing to submit 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 365 

to this order, he had hardly opened his mouth, 

when the beating of drums drowned his voice. His 

friends, listening attentively, caught a few words 

from his lips, which have been handed down to us. 

' I die," said he, " owning the Word of God as the 

' only rule of faith. I leave my testimony against 

' Popery, Prelacy, and Erastianism ; and particu- 

1 larly against all encroachments upon Christ's 

' rights, the Prince of the kings of the earth, who 

! alone must bear the glory of ruling His own 

' kingdom." The martyr was now ordered to 

ascend the ladder : he did so, saying, " Lord, I die 

1 in the faith that thou wilt not leave Scotland, 

' but that thou wilt make the blood of thy wit- 

' nesses to be the seed of thy church. Lord, come 

' quickly!" 

In truth, at the very moment that Renwick was 
resigning his soul to Gocl deliverance was nigh. 
The pistol of the dragoon was to fall from his 
cruel hand, the cord of the hangman to be broken ; 
the waves of the sea were no longer to serve as the 
executioners of the wrath of man, and the moun- 
tains of Scotland, instead of echoing to cries of 
anguish, were to burst forth into the voice of sing- 
ing. The Lord was about to appear and bring 
salvation. 

On the 10th of June, 1688, the queen, who had 
borne no children, gave birth to a prince, an event 
which filled the Papists with joy, and the Protestants 
with alarm. The crown, which should have de- 
scended to Mary, eldest daughter of James, and 



366 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

wife of the Stadtholder, William Prince of Orange- 
Nassau, the head of the Protestant cause in Europe, 
was therefore to devolve upon the son of the 
papistical Stuart. The child was baptized with 
great pomp, and had for his godfather — the Pope ! 
This was full of meaning. The Pope, in the opi- 
nion of James, ought to be the godfather of all 
England. 

But on the 5th of November, 1688, William of 
Orange, whom the people had invoked as their 
liberator, arrived on the coast of Devonshire, the 
English colours flying from his mast-head, with 
this inscription : " The Protestant Religion, and 
" Liberties of England;" and beneath it the motto 
of the Nassaus : " Je maintiendrai." 

Meanwhile the proclamations of the English 
leaders demanded the maintenance of Protestant- 
ism and a free parliament, calling James a tyrant, 
and, as such, to be opposed with all lawful resist- 
ance. 

On the evening of the 9th, the queen fled in 
disguise with the young prince, his nurse, and two 
other persons ; and crossed the Thames in an open 
boat, exposed to cold, wind, and rain, and fearing 
every moment to be discovered, before she could 
reach the ship which was to convey her to France. 

On the 11th, the king also fled, throwing the 
great seal of the kingdom into the river ; and the 
Pope's nuncio also escaped, disguised as a foot- 
man, sitting on the coach-box of a foreign ambas- 
sador. James, unfortunately arrested by some 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 367 

fishermen, just as he was on the point of leaving 
the English coast, was brought back to London, 
whence he was transferred to Rochester. Finding 
the garden door which led to the river purposely 
left open, he again fled at midnight, on the 23d of 
December. He landed, after a stormy passage, 
which lasted two days, at Ambleteuse, in France, 
and hastened to the royal castle of St. Germains, 
near Paris, to throw himself into the arms of the 
persecutor of the French Protestants. This was 
the end of the power which had intended to re- 
establish in Great Britain the odious yoke of the 
Papacy. 

The throne, declared vacant by the parliament, 
was given to William and Mary. Scotland assented 
to this resolution, by a declaration in April, 1689, 
which at the same time abolished Prelacy as the 
cause of the grievances of the country. On the 
25th of April, 1690, the Scottish parliament, after 
annulling the act which ascribed supremacy to the 
king in ecclesiastical matters, restored to their long 
destitute flocks those Presbyterian ministers who 
were still alive, and who had been driven from 
them ever since the 1st of January, 1661. The 
Westminster Confession was ratified soon after- 
wards, and the Presbyterian constitution declared 
to be the government of the Church of Christ in 
Scotland, as being " agreeable to the Word of God, 
" and most conducive to the advancement of true 
" piety and godliness, and the establishing of 
'• peace." 



368 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

They went even further ; and this act is particu- 
larly worthy of notice, as enabling us to under- 
stand the history of the present. On the 19th of 
July, 1690, the parliament again annulled patron- 
age, which had already been abolished in 1649, as 
illegal and contrary to the Word of God and to the 
liberties of the church. The highest authority of 
the nation annihilated that privilege which had 
always been odious to the Scottish people, — the 
privilege of the landlords to present ministers to 
the vacant churches. It declared the nomination 
of the pastors to belong to the elders and the Pro- 
testant heritors of the parish, who are to propose 
the person to the whole congregation ; and added 
that the latter, in case of refusal, should state their 
reasons to the presbytery. A compensation was 
assigned to the patrons. At length, on the 16th 
of October, 1690, after an illegal interruption of 
nearly forty years, the General Assembly was 
convened. 

The Church of Scotland was now once more in 
possession of all those liberties for which she had 
so long groaned, and a period of peace and prospe- 
rity, of independence and life, was opening before 
her. " The Lord shall judge among the nations, 
" and shall rebuke many people : and they shall 
" beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
" spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift 
u up sword against nation, neither shall they learn 
" war any more. house of Jacob, come ye, and let 
" us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isaiah, ii. 4, 5.) 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 369 

In looking back to the commencement of the 
period we have now surveyed, no one can have 
failed to remark, that certain points of resemblance 
are to be found between the Scottish struggles we 
have just recounted, and those other struggles 
which have taken place, and which are still in pro- 
gress on the shores of our fair lake of Geneva. I 
will not enlarge upon this subject. I acknowledge 
the conflicts of Scotland to have been more sangui- 
nary, more terrible, and more illustrious through 
the faith of her martyrs. They took place in the 
seventeenth century, not in the nineteenth. 

I will only indicate one point of resemblance 
between the struggles of Scotland and those of 
Vaud. In both we do not behold individual com- 
bats, but one great warfare of the persecuted 
church against her oppressors. Both churches 
look up to the King of all his people. It is the 
sovereignty of Christ which both have set up, 
against the illegal encroachments of the civil 
power. At the feet of Jesus, their King, our 
brethren of 1662, as well as our brethren of 1845, 
laid down the sacrifice of their livings, of their 
parishes, and sometimes even of the whole means 
which they possessed of feeding their little ones. 

Thus, then, in the hour of suffering, the Church 
feels her unity, and worships the kingship of her 
Head. But will she feel this unity, will she wor- 
ship this kingship only in distress ? Must the 
wicked deprive us of the Word of God ; must they 
drive the ministers from their pulpits, and shut the 

B B 



370 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

church doors against the faithful, to enable them 
to perceive that they are one body, and in order 
that the feeling of brotherhood which unites all 
together, and joins all to the Head, should be living 
and present in every heart ? 

Although the rod of God has not yet dispersed 
us, let us remember that the Christian church is 
truly one body ; that in the fellowship of the saints 
lay the prosperity of the Primitive Church ; and 
that it alone can cause our own to flourish. Let 
us be members organically united to one another 
under the same head, and let the communion we 
celebrate in our assemblies be no hypocritical cere- 
mony. Let the church be not a mere school in 
which a doctor instructs ; but, also, a true society 
of disciples : and let the new members of the church 
feel, when they confess their faith, that they are 
entering a living and eternal community. 

Never, perhaps, has the doctrine of a sole and 
living church, the doctrine of a single and heavenly 
head to which all members must belong, been more 
powerfully realised than in Scotland during the 
years of her sad tribulations. There men died for 
Jesus, the only Head and King of the church, as 
in other times and in other countries they died for 
Jesus, the only God, the only Sacrifice, and the only 
Intercessor. 

Doubtless, we do not mean to justify all that the 
Scottish Presbyterians did to maintain or to regain 
religious freedom. We must remember what was 
said at Geneva, by one of our doctors, in a thesis 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 371 

maintained in the eighteenth century, when a 
Roman Catholic brought forward the accusation 
of the death of Servetus. " That," he replied, 
" was one of the remnants of Popery." Though, 
as to doctrine, the Reformation, at its first step, 
rejected the whole of Popery ; it might, neverthe- 
less, with regard to certain points of ecclesiastical 
policy, not have so clear and so quick an eye. 
These are matters on which we become enlightened 
by degrees. 

But we have now entered on a new period, in 
which I firmly believe that Evangelical Christianity 
is to be propagated, and even defended by spiritual 
weapons alone. Scotland in 1833 and 1843 did 
not combat like the Scotland of 1660 and 1688. 
She deprecated every idea of resistance and revolu- 
tion. No more scaffolds, no more battles ! We shall 
have no more really religious wars ; and should 
there yet be struggles called by that name, religion 
will only be the pretext, while state-policy will be 
the real motive. This is the case in Switzerland. 

In this new period the weapons of Evangelical 
Christians must be purely spiritual, and thus 
" mighty through God." " Old things are passed 
" away ; behold, all things are become new." It is 
not only men and warriors who are to wrestle in 
this new conflict ; it is the women, the children, 
the aged. To all, whosoever you may be, Scotland 
has set an example. 

In the Christian warfare the weakest may take 
part, for it is not with men alone that the be- 

B B 2 



IJDOUaTa H8ITT0 

372 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

iehh inov ;tfi stjjswIb : band $& a^wle 9d nEiigiTrlO 
liever fights, even when it is with men that he 

ffvjxl'A J50 X i 6 J 113911 1UOY fllflj LB fY^rt 

has to deal. "-We wrestle not against flesh and 
" blood," says St. Paul ; " but against principali- 
" ties, against powers, against the rulers of the 
" darkness of this world, against spiritual wick- 
" edness in high places." Now, it is not by the 
sword, or by the scaffold, that such enemies are 
to be overcome. "This is the victory that over- 
" cometh the world, even our faith." When faith, 
truth, and charity, do not combat, the conflict is 
but a human uproar ; the field of battle is the 
kingdom of darkness. When the Christian' wrestles, 
it is of little consequence whether he obtain the 
victory over men ; there is no real victory unless 
he triumph over the powers of hell. The true 
battles of Scotland were not those in which stand- 
ards, muskets, and swords were to be seen ; they 
were those faithful confessions, those courageous 
and Christian deaths of which we have quoted a 
few examples. By these were the oppressors brought 

) rLiiw 90J39q ni t 8ban t rio8 exit \o moh-garl gdi 
My brethren, be ye also ready. Think not that 

because we live in other times, because we possess 
religious liberty, we are not called upon to combat 
like the generous witnesses of whom we have 
spoken. May this cloud of witnesses which we 
have caused to pass before your view not leave you 
idle and fruitless ! We summon you boldly to a 
battle, and this battle is an every day conflict, 
although there are some periods in which it be- 
comes more fearful. May the weapons of the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 373 

.B^oiToajjooas JAOiaoTgm St 8 

Christian be always at hand ; always at your side ; 
nay, always within your hearts ! You know Saint 
Paul's arsenal (Eph. vi.) ; fly to that store-house, 
and provide yourselves with arms. 

May "your loins begirt about with truth" — 
that moral truth, that sincerity, that simplicity of 
intention which faith in Christ creates in the heart, 
and which is the true adornment of the believer ! 
May you " have on the breastplate of righteous- 
" ness " — that righteousness which proceeds from 
faith, and in which the Christian is invulnerable ; 
for it is a righteousness proceeding, not from the 
sentiments of his own heart, but from the grace of 
God, who is greater than our hearts. Have " your 
" feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of 
u peace ;" for to wrestle against darkness we must 
possess the courage which comes from the good 
tidings of our own peace with God. He who is still 



8JLf 



under condemnation, who is still lying in darkness, 
cannot wrestle with the powers of darkness, for he 
is their bondman. But whosoever is carried into 
the kingdom of the Son, finds, in peace with Qod, 
all the strength which he needs to prevail against 
hell; of this we have just seen many examples. 
Let us add to all these weapons, the " shield of 
a faith" in the promises of God, so fit to cover us ; 
" the helmet of the assurance of salvation ;" " the 
" Word," which is more powerful than a two-edged 



' 



sword; and, above all things, "prayer." 

Such is the armour of the Christian, according 
to St. Paul, and I lay it before you. These arms 



I ' TffTP, TTSTTTi 



374 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

are better than those Cameron held in his hand 
when he died. Honour be to those men of old 
time ! but let us discern our new times, and the 
call of God to the present generation. Alas ! it is 
not conflicts, not wrestlings that are now wanting. 
There are such in the nineteenth century, as in the 
seventeenth, and as in the first. What is wanting 
is fidelity — is victory. May faith, may triumph 
never fail us more! I speak of the triumph of 
faith ; of that triumph which is obtained even when 
all human Tiopes are disappointed. 

But does not the result which God bestowed 
upon the struggles of Scotland, remind us that He 
is sometimes pleased to bestow other results and 
other deliverances ? What a manifestation of God's 
power, was that rapid fall of James II., and that 
arrival of William on the shores of Britain, with 
these words upon his banner — "The Protestant 
" religion and liberties of England ! " Let us 
with united hearts boldly resist the present efforts 
of Popery and infidelity, and the tyranny of pow- 
erful men. Let us not be afraid because we are 
weak. Most wonderful is the power of little things 
in the kingdom of nature and in the kingdom of 
grace. An insect almost too minute for observa- 
tion constructs those coral reefs of the Southern 
Ocean against which the heedless vessel strikes 
and is lost, and those islands where the wearied 
mariner seeks a refuge from the storm. A Christian 
gentleman of France* has recently called to recol- 

* Count Agenor de Gasparin. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 375 

lection an ancient Swiss coin, representing a man 
leaning on a long two-handed sword, with the de- 
vice — Deus pkovidebit. " Admirable emblem ! " 
adds this pious nobleman ; " man is armed for the 
" combat, and God will provide ! " To throw away 
the sword, and wait for God alone, is to neglect 
one of the conditions of victory. To forget God, 
and reckon upon one's own sword alone, is to ne- 
glect the other condition of success. Let us ob- 
literate neither the armed man nor the device. 
Let us grasp the sword of the Spirit, and fight our 
best ; and let us implore that blessing without 
which all human efforts are vain. God will provide. 
" Say among the nations, the Lord reigneth : the 
" Lord reigneth, let the people tremble ; the Lord 
" reigneth, let the earth rejoice." 






U 1 1U 















B B 4 



376 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS . 

doiadO bdihauK pa 4 ! n&iiBhdD edt 1o 

AsoosSL q¥L AyiudO 99i1 edt baa eiom 
CHAP. VIII. 

SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 

EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 

PATRONAGE. 1700- 1843. 

1. Awakening and Sleep. Union of England and Scotland. Fun- 
damental Condition. The Jacobites and the Pretender. 
The Jacobites restore Patronage. Alarm of Scotland. An 
old Iniquity. — 2. Worldliness and Arminianism in the Church. 
Protesting for Seventy-two Years. Moderatism. Ebenezer 
Erskine. Robertson and his Times. Thomas Gillespie. 
Military Intrusions. Nigg. A solemn Appeal. Unita- 
rianism enters the Church. — 3. Transition. French Revo- 
lution. Missions. The Chalmers' Period begins. His First 
Motion in 1833. Increase of Evangelical Ministers. The 
Veto in 1834. Two Solutions. A Falsehood in the Church. 
Another Way. Sufferings of the Church. Pastoral Rela- 
tionship. Argument of Chalmers. An Ignorant Christian. 
Politicians at first favour the Veto. Its Effects. — 4. A strong 
Opposition formed. Auchterarder and Mr. Young. An 
Enormity. Marnoch and Mr. Edwards. Dr. Candlish's 

Motion. The Sword drawn. Revivals. Edwards settled 

■- - 

at Marnoch. The Congregation withdraws. Feelings of Scot- 
land. — 5. Dr. Buchanan's Motion. Petitions. Decision of the 
Moderate Party. 2oth August. Diplomatic Negotiations. 
Chalmers against the Encroachments of the Civil Courts. 
Claim of Rights. A Church in one Day. — 6. Decision of the 
House of Lords. Scotland prepares. Convocation of the 
17th November. Address to the People of Scotland. Answer 
of the Government. Its Mistake. Appeal of Chalmers. 
Reply of the People. Decision of the Commons. — 7. Dilemma. 
18th May 1843. Concourse of People. St. Andrews. The 
Protest. The Exodus. Deputations. — 8. The Procession. 
Cannon Mills. Chalmers, first Moderator of the Free Church. 
Deed of Demission. Ministers leave their Manses and 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES." 377 

Cliurclieg. Vital Preaching. Sites, or the Wilderness. Efforts 
of the Christian People. Six Hundred Churches. Ben- 
more and the Free Church. No Recoil. 

JIIY ZIAHO 

jaT8 H8ITT003 

[-00TI £tai 

UNION AND PATRONAGE. 

* 

It is after the most painful fatigues, and the 
most strenuous exertion, that sleep generally over- 
comes a man ; and even so, after the most laborious 
struggles, does the church lie most exposed to the 
danger of slumber. A revival is generally fol- 
lowed by a lethargy, and. a great elevation by a 
o at f|j 

o 

After the first three centuries, scarcely were the 
flames of persecution extinguished, and the children 
of God no longer exposed to confess their faith by 
the sacrifice of their blood, when the church, ex- 
changing the swords and scaffolds of Trajan and 
Aurelius for the soft seats and sumptuous couches 
of Constant in e and his successors, fell into a deep 
slumber. 

The mighty revival of the Reformation was like- 
wise followed by the torpor of a scholastic and 
deadening theology. The awakening of Pietism 
and Spener in Germany, at the end of the seven- 
teenth century, gave place to a rationalism which 
threatened to be for the church the sleep of the 
tomb. Will it not be the same with the deliverance 



378 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

which, as we have seen, was granted by God to 
Scotland ? Will it not become a stone of offence in 
her way, against which she will stumble and fall ? 

On the 8th of March, 1702, on the death of 
King William, Queen Anne, the second daughter of 
James II., succeeded. The victories of Marlborough 
have shed glory on her reign, and she was, at 
Utrecht, the arbitress of Europe. But her most 
memorable act was the Union of England and 
Scotland, thus forming one parliament. To the 
preparation of this Union, the government, soon 
after her accession, bestowed their utmost atten- 
tion. Under some real advantages, great dangers 
lay concealed. Scotland was Presbyterian, Eng- 
land Episcopal ; the weaker of the two kingdoms 
might be apprehensive of seeing her ecclesiastical 
principles misunderstood by the stronger. An act 
therefore passed, as the basis of the Treaty of 
Union, by virtue of which (these are the very 
words) — " The true Protestant religion, as pre- 
" sently professed within this kingdom, with the 
" worship, discipline, and government of this 
" church, should be effectually and unalterably 
" secured. Her Majesty expressly provides and 
" declares, that they shall remain and continue 
" unalterable \ and that the said Presbyterian 
ff government shall be the only government of the 
" church within the kingdom of Scotland ; and it 
" is hereby statuted and ordained, that this Act of 
u Parliament, with the establishment therein con- 
" tained, shall be held in all time coming as a 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 379 

" fundamental and essential condition of any treaty 
" or union to be concluded betwixt the two king- 

" doms WITHOUT ANY ALTERATION THEREOF, OR 
" DEROGATION THERETO, IN ANY SORT EOR EVER." 

This was the tenor of the Act of Union of the 
16th January, 1707. It is worthy of our atten- 
tion, that we may rightly understand the present 
times. It was most clearly and categorically settled, 
that the united parliament of England and Scot- 
land should make no change whatever in the con- 
stitution of the Scottish Church ; so that any in- 
fringement of the fundamental act of the Union of 
the two kingdoms might be regarded as virtually 
implying the dissolution of this great national 
treaty. The Union was completed upon this 
clearly defined basis, and, thenceforward, one and 
the same parliament represented the two nations. 
Thus it seemed to have put the Church of Scotland 
in immutable and irrevocable possession of her 
liberties. But what are all human guarantees ? 
Scarcely had five years passed away, when the 
ecclesiastical government of Scotland underwent 
an important change, and the treaty of Union was 
seriously infringed. At this very time, at the 
distance of more than a century, Scotland is still 
troubled and agitated by this violation of her 
treaty with England. We proceed to describe the 
way in which the lamentable event was brought 
about. 

There existed in Scotland a powerful Jacobite 
party, all the members of which were attached 



380 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

OTOTg H3XTTO f y 

to the Stuarts ; but some of them were also at- 
tached to Episcopacy, and others to Popery. All 
were full of hatred to the Evangelical Presby- 
terian Church, and desired its overthrow, regard- 
ing it as the bulwark of civil and religious liberty. 
This party, which also existed in England, came 
into power during the reign of Queen Anne, and 
formed a ministry which included Sir Simon Har- 
court, the famous infidel Bolingbroke, and the 
Duke of Hamilton, the chief of the Scottish Jaco- 
bites. The' object of this ministry was to procure 
that the Pretender, the Chevalier St. George, 
godson of the Pope, and brother to the queen, 
who, ever since 1701, had been recognised by 
Louis XIV. of France as King of England, by 
the title of James III., should be acknowledged 
as the successor of Anne, to the exclusion of the 
Protestant branch of the family, the head of which 
was now the Princess Sophia, Duchess of Hanover. 
This Papist party was powerfully supported from 
abroad. The Pretender, closely allied to the Pope, 
received from him subsidies, prayers, and indul- 
gences in favour of those who would either pray 
or act for the success of his cause. Queen Anne 
herself was desirous that her brother, the Popish 
Pretender, should be her successor, rather than the 

Protestant Princess of Hanover, and did all in her 
■".-pri no $& f nomw ban .bnMjoog 

power to that effect. 

&cmmnu } JT edt a r fobd. hid &nw ,£2*31 m: 

Ihe General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 

. . . 
of Scotland saw the state of affairs in its true light, 

and perceiving the dangers that now threatened 
■ m ot Jijjomxb too [do *%m$ aiohao'i nom J "io to A 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 381 

the faith, ordered, that in the public prayers the 
name of the Princess Sophia should be placed im- 
mediately after the queen's, as her rightful suc- 
cessor. 

1 he Jacobite or Popish, party, desirous of clearing 
their way, now attempted to weaken the Church 
of Scotland. By thus degrading that illustrious 

bulwark of truth and freedom, the Papists or Jaco- 

j. 

bites hoped, besides the immediate advantages that 
they would derive, to create in Scotland a spirit of 
discontent against England, which would render it 
more easy for the Pretender to win the Scottish 
throne, and make it a stepping-stone to that of 
England. In fact, it has always been through 
Scotland that the different Pretenders, Charles II., 
the Chevalier St. George, and the Duke of Albany, 
have endeavoured to repossess themselves of Great 
Britain. The Jacobite party saw no better way of 
accomplishing this than to restore Patronage, which 
had been solemnly abolished by the Revolution of 
1688. The restoration of Patronage was, therefore, 
a work of Papistical tendency, conceived and exe- 
cuted by the friends of the Pretender. These are 
the expressions of a distinguished member of the 
Jacobite party in England, (formerly a bishop,) in a 
letter addressed by him to another episcopalian in 
Scotland, and which, at the time of the disruption 
in 1843, was laid before the House of Commons. 
After showing that the aim of the party should be 
the re- establishment of Prelacy, and adding that the 
Act of Union renders this object difficult to attain, 



382 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

the author proceeds : " The matter must first be 
" sounded at a distance ; and a just computation 
" of our strength, and some previous settlement 
" made, such as restoring of patronage, and the 
" granting of indulgence, with liberty to possess 
" churches and benefices ; and this -will undoubt- 
" edly make way for an entire re-establishment of 
" the ancient apostolic order of bishops ; for our 
" queen, having right, as patron, to a great many 
" churches, _ she will still prefer those of our per- 
" suasion to others, and the rest of laical patrons, 
fi partly through interest, and to please her Majesty, 
" will follow her example." 

This calculation could not fail of being realised. 
In fact, according to a late enumeration, out of 972 
parishes, the crown has the patronage of 302, the 
privy council 60, and different landholders 587. 
There remained only 24 for different colleges or 
heads of families, more or less unbiassed by aristo- 
cratical or episcopal influence. 

The Jacobite party immediately set to work. 
As the Act of Union stipulated that the Church 
of Scotland should retain all her institutions, after 
the purely Scottish parliament had been dissolved, 
and an Anglo- Scottish parliament had succeeded 
it in London ; it was a necessary consequence that 
the united parliament had no power, as we have 
seen, to change one iota in the constitution of the 
Scottish Church ; and that if such a change had 
been proposed, it would have been requisite again 
to convene the Scottish parliament at Edinburgh, 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 383 

which body alone had the right of deciding in con- 
cert with the General Assembly. Yet the con- 
trary course was adopted. 

The son of one of the former patrons of the 
Church of Scotland, (Mr. Murray, son of Lord 
Stormont,) proposed in the House of Commons, 
on the 13th of March, 1712, the restoration of 
church patronage in Scotland, and on the 7 th of 
April the bill passed. 

All Scotland was in consternation, and the most 
animated speeches were delivered north of the 
Tweed. Every one, even those who were unmoved 
by the political and ecclesiastical prepossessions of 
the times, regarded patronage with suspicion. Most 
of the patrons at the present day belong to the 
Episcopal Church, as many of them belonged to 
it at that period. Now to cause the ministers of 
one church to be appointed by men belonging to 
another, is certainly one of the greatest ecclesi- 
astical absurdities that can be imagined. For the 
sake of consistency, they should have settled that, 
in England, for instance, the bishops of the An- 
glican Church should be appointed by the Pope. 
Besides this, the Scotch could never forget that it 
was by shedding the blood of their generous mar- 
tyrs that the attempt had been made to set up 
the church of Archbishop Laud in the midst of 
them, to the members of which they were now 
to consign the nomination of their pastors. " Pa- 
tronage," said most of them, H is nothing but a 



384 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" tool of the government to bring this nation to 
" Popery." 

Scotland, in alarm, hastily sent to London three 
deputies — Carstares, Blackwell, and Baillie — to 
oppose in the House of Lords that fatal measure, 
which had been already agreed upon in the Com- 
mons. But notwithstanding their protestations, 
the bill passed the Upper House on the 12th of 
April, and on the 2 2d was presented for the royal 
assent. What would Queen Anne do ? 

It was an immoral act which the queen of 
England was then required to perform. The two 
nations had just been united by a solemn treaty, 
and before the ink had time to dry, the ministers 
destroyed the parchment in their sovereign's pre- 
sence. What did they propose but the repeal of 
the Treaty of Union, the annihilation of the 
Kevolution Settlement, the abolition of her own 
right to the empire ? 

All these considerations were of no avail. " It 
" only concerns a few Puritans," they told the 
queen. Besides this, other important objects were 
to be attained. The queen gave her assent. 

But this act, in reality a most revolutionary one, 
was merely a beginning. The Jacobite and Popish 
party were preparing other bills, one of which 
was to abolish the General Assemblies of the 
church ; another to force the presentee on the 
flocks without leaving the latter even the form or 
appearance of a call ; and a third to restore 
their revenues to the bishops. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 385 

The death of Queen Anne, and the accession 
of the House of Hanover, delivered the church, 
with the help of God, from these fresh attacks. 
Bolingbroke saved himself by flight, and went to 
hide his infidelity and his fatal designs in France. 
Yet the introduction of patronage was sufficient. 
It was an infraction not only of the Presbyterian 
system, but of public faith. England, at this very 
hour, is moved at the violation of another treaty 
committed on the banks of the Vistula, near Poland 
and Gallicia. But she would do well to be moved 
at this annihilation of the most solemn statutes which 
has been committed, not by others, but by herself, — 
not fifteen hundred miles from London, but in that 
very metropolis. It is true that more than a cen- 
tury has elapsed since the deed was done ; but an 
old iniquity is still more flagrant than a new one ; 
it is increased every year by the injustice which 
refuses to redress it. Such injustice is a crevice 
in the armour of a people ; in spite of all they do, 
this defect becomes more and more apparent, 
neutralising every movement. Sooner or later 
the consequences will be seen. " They have sown 
|| the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind,'' 
says Hosea (viii. 7.). 

. l£19Iiax) 

nnfo 



l 
c c 






386 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

gnitabominoooB 910m 
889 9lf J" m yjtixjsl 
II. 

ifoiuifo 

ROBERTSON'S PERIOD AND MODERATISM. 

After such a violation of the treaty, we might 
have expected from Scotland a legal, Christian, and 
energetic resistance. But the former days were 
passed away. At the period of the Revolution of 
1688, the' Presbyterian Church had received within 
her three hundred of the prelatic, worldly, and 
persecuting curates of Charles and James II. , who 
had thus formed a party averse to evangelical piety, 
sound doctrine, and ecclesiastical liberty, and 
always ready to concur in political intrigues. 
There were, besides, other causes. After the strug- 
gles that Scotland had undergone from 1660 to 
1688, the whole country experienced a reaction 
similar to that which takes place in the human 
frame after violent exertion. The Arian and 
Arminian doctrines, elaborated in Holland and 
England, found among this people a well-prepared 
soil. In the opinion of many, the Gospel was no 
longer a work of expiation and of regeneration 
accomplished by Jesus Christ ; it was transformed 
into " a milder dispensation," a Neonomianism, 
without either grandeur or strength. The patrons 
naturally preferred these Arminian clergymen to 
the evangelical ministers, finding among the 
former, men more compliant, more indifferent, and 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 387 

more accommodating as to the moral law. Thus 
laxity in the essential doctrines of Christianity 
went along with laxity as to the liberties of the 
church, and the two qualifications united, thence- 
forward formed the distinctive characteristics of 
what afterwards received the name of Moderatism. 
Every period has its peculiar danger. After having 
had to sustain in the sixteenth century the hateful 
and perfidious struggle against Popery, and in the 
seventeenth the violent and cruel one against 
Prelacy, the Church of Scotland was now to be 
enfeebled in the eighteenth by the enervating and 
lethargic vapours of Patronage and Moderatism. 

Yet the truly evangelical did not yield ; and 
when they beheld Patronage introduced by the 
illegal act of Queen Anne, they rose against this 
restoration of a system odious to the whole people 
of Scotland. The General Assembly itself protested. 
Queen Anne being dead, the Church of Scotland 
renewed her protest in 1715, before George I., and 
in 1717 sent a deputation to London to obtain the 
repeal of that act. The petition was read, but Par- 
liament dissolved without paying attention to it. 
Similar protests were repeated year after year by the 
General Assembly, till 1784, a period which was that 
of youth with some of ourselves, The revocation 
of the act of Queen Anne was the Delencla Carthago 
of Scotland. "What!" said they, " would you 
" deprive Christians, a free people, of all interest in 
" the choice of those to whom they entrust the care 
" of their souls ? Would you give up this right to 

c c 2 



388 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

u unconcerned patrons, who often do not even reside 
" in the parish, and would themselves devolve it 
"upon others?" But what did that signify to 
men who were strangers to the Gospel ? They 
took great care, indeed, of the prosperity of the 
church! At last the church felt little concern 
in it herself. In 1784, moderate opinions were de- 
cidedly prevalent on this subject, and the protest 
was laid aside. 

Scotland submitted to this unlawful act. In the 
beginning of the eighteenth century her fatal slum- 
ber had commenced. The church had been losing 
her senses by degrees, and the mephitic vapours of 
Moderatism, ascending to her head, had deprived 
her of the consciousness of her own existence. This 
lethargic influence had increased from year to year, 
and she fell into a long and deep sleep. 

During the first ten years of the union of the 
two kingdoms, the feelings of grievance which this 
violation of national compacts had excited, were so 
strong, that no patron dared avail himself of the 
right of presentation which the Act of Queen Anne 
had bestowed on him. But by degrees, especially 
after 1735, the time when the Moderates obtained 
a decisive influence in the direction of the church, 
the call of ministers by the congregation became 
nothing more than a form — a mere compliment 
paid to the pastor by his flock ; and the liberties 
of the Church of Scotland, which had cost so much 
precious blood, were about to be overwhelmed by 
the stagnant waters of Moderatism. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 389 

Yet a few generous voices still made themselves 
heard. The spirit of early times — the spirit of 
Knox, of Melvill, of Welsh — was not yet extinct. 
Thus, when a dead calm falls upon the sea, de- 
stroying all life and motion, light airs from time 
to time gently swell the sails of the ship, until 
at last every movement of the air ceases, and the 
disheartened sailors can no longer work the ves- 
sel. In like manner, a few vivifying breezes still 
came, from time to time, to reanimate Scotland, 
lying still and motionless in the dead calm of the 
Moderate party. 

Ebenezer Erskine, minister of Stirling, was one 
of the first witnesses for God who preached against 
the growing corruptions of the church. This took 
place in 1732. He was summoned to the bar of the 
Assembly, to be rebuked by the Moderator; but, 
feeling convinced that he had acted conformably to 
the laws of the church, he protested against the 
citation, and three of his colleagues joined him in 
so doing. All four, after being deprived, formed 
themselves into a distinct presbytery. This was 
the first secession, which now numbers 400 con- 
gregations. " The seed fallen into good ground 
a brings forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, 
" some thirty fold," saith the Lord. Here each 
grain has brought forth a hundred. 

Ten years afterwards a great religious revival ma- 
nifested itself in different parts of Scotland. There 
were almost every day numerous assemblies at 
Cambuslang, Kilsyth, and elsewhere. A vast num- 

c c 3 



390 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

ber of souls were converted. But this passing 
gleam of heavenly sunshine soon vanished, and the 
sky was again covered with thick clouds. 

God usually decrees that when great things are 
to be accomplished, either for good or evil, some 
man should appear, who influences and rules the 
whole period. This now happened. An illus- 
trious writer, William Eobertson, the historian of 
Charles V., now took his place at the head of Scot- 
tish Moderatism. Of irreproachable moral conduct, 
and commanding genius, he undertook to oblige the 
flocks everywhere to receive the presentee of the 
patron. During his reign (this is not too strong 
a word), which lasted nearly thirty years, Ro- 
bertson showed himself in the government of the 
church, as he did also in his remarkable writings, 
to be a stranger to the internal wants of the people 
of God, and to the life of faith. He attached him- 
self to the political, social, and psychological points 
of view, and was, in these respects, an incom- 
parable historian ; but far from exhibiting to his 
readers, even in the history of the Reformation, 
the power of the Divine Word, and the might of 
evangelical faith — far from setting in its true light 
the necessity of faithful churches developing them- 
selves conformably to the doctrines and the life of 
grace; he does not even appear aware of the 
existence of such things, and they remain to him a 
terra incognita. There was unity in Robertson: 
the writer and the Moderator were one and the 
same individual; and it might be said of him in 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 391 

both characters, as Luther said of Erasmus, " In 
" him the human predominates over the divine."* 
Caring little for conscience or for individual con- 
victions, and holding with a firm grasp the yoke of 
patronage, under which he would cause all Scotland 
to pass, he said to every one : " Bow the head, or go 
" out ! 8 

The first instance of this tyranny occurred in 
1752. One Richardson, presented by the patron of 
Inverkeithing, was rejected by the parishioners. 
The General Assembly ordered him to be settled in 
spite of their objections j but Mr. Thomas Gillespie, 
one of the ministers appointed to proceed to his set- 
tlement, refused to do so. In consequence of this 
Mr. Gillespie was deprived. " I rejoice," said the 
venerable man, meekly, on hearing his sentence, — 
" I rejoice that to me it is given, in behalf of 
"Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to 
" suffer for His sake." This act brought about the 
second secession, known by the name of the Relief, 
which now numbers 114 churches. The two 
secessions this year (1847) united themselves into 
one Scottish Presbyterian Church. 

Thenceforward, intrusions become more and 
more frequent, and often the clergymen appointed 
by the General Assembly to ordain a pastor were 
seen to arrive at a village with a military escort, 
which was to lend them assistance. Then, as in 
the time of the Stuarts, the soldiers settled the 
9ffo bins 9fi 

* Humana prevalent in eo plus quam divina. 
c c 4 



392 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

minister; and this was what they called " the 
" Moderate system." May God preserve his church 
from such moderation ! " Wasting and destruction 
" are in their paths ! " (Isaiah, lix. 7.) 

At Nigg, in Ross-shire, John Balfour, a faithful 
pastor, had long led his flock to the " good Shep- 
" herd who laid down His life for the sheep." On 
his death the parishioners, knowing that the con- 
duct of the minister presented to them was not in 
accordance with the Gospel, refused to call him. 
But on the day of ordination, four members of the 
presbytery, who were Moderates, (the others kept 
at a distance,) proceeded to the church to settle 
the presentee. The church was empty, not a 
single parishioner appeared ; when suddenly, in one 
of the galleries, a pious and energetic Scotchman 
showed himself, and, turning to the four asto- 
nished commissioners, exclaimed : " If you settle a 
" man to the walls of the kirk, the blood of the 
" parish of Nigg will be required of you." It 
was in vain ; the wall system prevailed : what they 
cared for was not the living stones of the spiritual 
house ; it was merely the benches, the bricks, and 
plaster. A minister was given to the walls of this 
church, and the pious parishioners never more en- 
tered it. 

A Mr. Thomson was presented by the patron to 
the parish of St. Ninians. Six hundred heads of 
families, sixty heritors, and all the elders of the 
parish, except one, opposed him. The struggle 
lasted seven years. At length, the General As- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 393 

sembly, in 1773, ordered the presbytery to proceed 
to the ordination. An immense crowd filled the 
church; but instead of the usual questions, the 
presiding minister, alarmed at the work he was 
to perform, addressed to the presentee this af- 
fecting and solemn appeal: — "I conjure you by 
" the mercies of Gocl, for the sake of the great 
" number of souls of St. Xinians, by that peace of 
u mind which you would wish in a dying hour, 
" and that awful and impartial account which, in 
" a little, you must give to God of your own soul, 
" and the souls of this parish, at the tribunal of 
" our Lord Jesus Christ, — give it up." There was 
a profound silence. At length the miserable 
Thomson said dryly, " Sir, proceed to obey your 
" superiors." The ordination followed ; but the 
souls of Christians were stirred within them, and 
many cried out, in distress ; " God ! when wilt 
" thou break the yoke of our burden, the staff of 
"our shoulder, and the rod of our oppressor?" 
(Isaiah, ix. 4.) 

It was all in vain. The reign of Moderatism be- 
came more and more absolute. Robertson himself 
was soon outdone, and after having destroyed the 
liberties of the church, men were found willing 
to abolish even the doctrines of the Word of 
God. Several ministers who preached Unitarian 
doctrines demanded of the General Assembly the 
abolition of the Westminster Confession of Faith. 
Robertson desired it to be maintained ; but being 
unwilling to engage in this new struggle, as we 



394 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

are told by Sir Henry Moncrieff, one of his most 
intimate friends, he retired. This happened in 
1780 ; he was then only fifty-nine years old, and 
his faculties retained their full vigour. 

The ecclesiastical influence of Robertson was 
perpetuated even after his withdrawal. He died 
in 1793 ; and the period to which he has given his 
name thus came to a close in the days of the con- 
vulsions, the murders, and the destructions of the 
French Revolution. This is worthy of obser- 
vation. 

Evangelical Christianity had almost expired in 
Scotland, and absolutism, error, and lethargy had 
subdued the free and living country of Melvill and 
of Knox. 

Then commenced a period of transition, which 
separates the dismal times of Robertson from the 
glorious epoch of Chalmers. 

TH90 ifrii99tenirr add \o teiqoidt 

\aB££L Q1 foil bit 819mIj3lD 

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III. 
tejjin 9rrO J M asmodT lo baa HosxrroiiT woiboA lo 

CHALMERS' PERIOD AND THE VETO. 
a lo flOI8T9VfIOO 9dT .819Hf; dq 

The horrors of the French Revolution, spreading 
terror in all directions, awakened, in many hearts, 
the consciousness of the crime they had com- 
mitted in abandoning the Gospel of the grace of 
God. Though Scotland had never deviated from 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 395 

the faith, so far as had been done on the Continent, 
and especially in France, she yet accepted, as 
addressed to herself, that awful voice of the Lord, 
which then, as Hosea says, " roared like a lion." 
(Hosea, xi. 10.) 

The whole of Great Britain experienced a shock 
from heaven, which, in many places, caused the 
living waters of faith to gush forth anew. Chris- 
tian Missions were the principal channels in which 
these fresh springs of truth and life were now to 
flow. 

Eobertson had buried the Church of Scotland: 
Chalmers raised her from the dead. Or rather 
the power of darkness had prevailed under the 
illustrious name of the historian of Scotland and of 
Charles Y. ; the power from on high was made 
effectual under the illustrious name of the great 
theologian, the great philosopher, the great philan- 
thropist of the nineteenth century. 

Chalmers did not stand alone ; there were many 
other Christians who also set their hands to the 
work. Some were even engaged in it before him, 
both within and without the Church. The names 
of Andrew Thomson and of Thomas M'Crie must 
here take precedence of others ; yet the principal 
place belongs to Chalmers. The conversion of a 
great number of students and young ministers was 
owing, under God, to the instructions and writings 
of this divine. His influence is of quite a different 
nature from Robertson's. The latter presided 
immediately in the church courts, and held in 



396 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

his own grasp the reins of administration : Chal- 
mers might also have done this; but he is,* 
perhaps, in a less degree than Eobertson, a man of 
ecclesiastical government ; he is pre-eminently a 
man of thought, of instruction, of preaching, and 
of Christian activity. In his study, in his Divinity 
Hall, in the pulpit, in literary societies, and among 
the poor of his people, still more than in com- 
mittees and debates, are the scenes of his labours 
to be sought. However this may be, it is worthy 
of notice, that it was the two most eminent lite- 
rary men of Scotland, who presided over two such 
contrary periods through which the Church of 
Scotland has successively passed. We can only 
add, that to live in the period of Chalmers, and yet 
remain attached to the traditions of that of Ro- 
bertson, is a most singular and revolting ana- 
chronism. 

Evangelism having rapidly grown up, Moder- 
atism, in like manner, declined. Dr. Duff, the 
first missionary sent by a national Protestant 
Church, had left Scotland, to carry into India the 
light of the Gospel. The Reform Bill, in 1832, 
commenced a new era, the influence of which was 
to be felt even in church matters. The number of 
ministers and elders who were attached to the 
Gospel was every year increasing. All seemed 
ready. 

* I leave the present tense. All this was written some months 
before the death of Chalmers. — Blessed be his name ! 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 397 

It was then that Chalmers stepped forward. He 
commenced the re-construction of the ecclesiastical 
edifice by the same means through which its ruin 
had been begun. He demanded in the General As- 
sembly of 1833, that the dissent of a majority of the 
male heads of families, resident in the parish and 
communicants, should be of conclusive effect in 
setting aside the presentee. This motion was nega- 
tived by a majority of only twelve votes ; but even, 
at that time, most of the ministers were in favour 
of the veto of the parish. 

One circumstance which seemed to extenuate the 
evils of patronage increased the number of those 
ministers who voted in an evangelical direction. 
Frequently, of late years, the patrons had pre- 
sented pious ministers to their parishes. These 
patrons had different motives for so doing. They 
knew that such men would possess the confidence of 
the people in a high degree ; that under their influ- 
ence public order and morality would be better 
maintained ; and that even temporal prosperity 
would thereby result both to their tenants and to 
their estates. Besides, the Reform Bill, by increas- 
ing the number of electors, might make it desirable 
for the patrons (at least this is the opinion of well- 
informed persons) to appoint to their parishes minis- 
ters who enjoyed the confidence of the people, and 
who might therefore be able to give their landlords 
an effectual support. Therefore, although evan- 
gelical ministers were still looked upon with some 
degree of suspicion, on account of their known at- 



398 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

tachment to the liberties of the church, the patrons 
imagined that when once these young preachers 
were well settled in a good parish and in a com- 
fortable manse, they would become more tempe- 
rate; and not be willing, for the sake of a few 
trivial exaggerations, to endanger their prospects, 
and those of their families. It appeared afterwards 
that they were mistaken. 

That Chalmers's motion should have been re- 
jected the first time by the General Assembly, is 
not to be wondered at. It is not unusual in Eng- 
land to see a measure carried triumphantly at last, 
after having been rejected for ten, fifteen, or twenty 
years. The Slavery question, the Corn Law bill, 
and many others, have proved this. They set to 
work again the following year ; and this time, it 
was not on a minister, but on an elder, Lord Mon- 
crieff, one of the first lawyers of Scotland, that the 
important motion of the Yeto devolved. It was 
passed on the 27th of May, 1834, by a majority 
of forty-six. 

This is the famous Veto Act, by virtue of which 
the General Assembly declares, " That it is a fun- 
" damental law of this Church, that no pastor 
" shall be intruded on any congregation contrary 
"to the will of the people; and in order that this 
"principle may be carried into full effect, the 
" General Assembly, with the consent of a majo- 4 
" rity of the Presbyteries of this Church, do 
" declare, enact, and ordain, that it shall be an 
"instruction to Presbyteries, that if, at the moder- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 399 

" ating in a call to a vacant pastoral charge, the 
" major part of the male heads of families, mem- 
" bers of the vacant congregation, and in full com- 
" munion with the Church, shall disapprove of the 
" person in whose favour the call is proposed to be 
" moderated, in such cases, disapproval shall be 
" deemed sufficient ground for the Presbytery re- 
jecting such a person, and that he shall be 
" rejected accordingly, and due notice thereof 
" forthwith given to all concerned. And further, 
" declare, that no person shall be held to be enti- 
" tied to disapprove as aforesaid, who shall refuse, 
" if required, solemnly to declare, in presence of 
" the Presbytery, that he is actuated by no factious 
" or malicious motive, but solely, by a conscientious 
" regard to the spiritual interest of himself or the 
" congregation." 

This important act became, if not the cause, at 
least the occasion, of the creation of the Free 
Church. It is therefore worth while pausing for a 
moment to consider it* 

To form a just estimate of the subject, it is 
requisite to go back to 1712, to the famous Act of 
Queen Anne. From 1712 to 1784, that is, during 
seventy-two years, the national Church of Scotland 
had protested against the Bill which, in contra- 
diction to the Treaty of Union, re-established 
Patronage. Subsequently, in 1784, under the in- 
fluence of the philosophy of the eighteenth century, 
the protest had been discontinued. But now, in 
1833, the parishioners, flocks, presbyteries, and 



400 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

General Assemblies had been restored to life. 
Could the church keep silence? could she do less 
than had been done up to 1784 by a cold Mode- 
ratism? Could the period of Chalmers yield in 
fidelity to the period of Robertson ? Such a sup- 
position would have been contrary to the plainest 
common sense. 

There were before the church two ways of re- 
pairing the mischief done to her constitution by the 
Jacobite ministry of Queen Anne, — either to 
abolish the act of 1712, or to accept the act, at the 
same time seeking to correct its pernicious effects. 
The former way was more decisive, more hostile ; 
the latter milder and more conciliatory. Now, the 
Moderate church of the eighteenth century, had 
demanded the decisive solution ; the Evangelical 
Church of the nineteenth chose the conciliatory 
way ; and yet the vital period of Chalmers has 
been accused of having required even less than the 
lifeless period of Robertson ! 

This Act of Queen Anne stood in the midst of the 
church, as a rock, on which, year after year, the 
treasure ship of Scotland struck and was wrecked. 
The Veto Act, passed in 1834, had, for its object, 
to raise a barrier round the reef to prevent such 
disasters in future. 

The prejudices and passions of the world would 
not permit this. The act, instead of preventing, 
as was intended, these multiplied disasters, occa- 
sioned an immense one. Nevertheless, the ship- 
wrecked have had no cause to complain. The 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 401 

yawning gulf of the Maelstrom has not swallowed 
them up ; but, on the contrary, their misfortune 
has opened to them the ports of a new world, 
resplendent with liberty, light, and peace. 

The right of the flock to call their pastor still 
subsisted in Scotland ; only it had become a mere 
form, and sometimes even a falsehood. All that 
the Veto Act proposed to do was to make this legal 
call of the flock a reality, by removing a falsehood 
which, to the shame of the church, was often re- 
peated within her. In fact, the minister, presented 
by the patron, was called by the flock according to 
the following form : — 

" We, the Heritors, Elders, Heads of Families 

" and Parishioners of the Parish of within 

" the bounds of the Presbytery of and 

" County of , taking into consideration the 

" present destitute state of the said Parish, through 

" the death of our late pastor, the Rev. , 

" being satisfied with the learning, abilities, and 
" other good qualifications of you, Mr. , 



" Preacher of the Gospel, and having heard you 
" preach to our satisfaction and edification, do 

u hereby invite and call you, the said Mr. 

" , to take charge and oversight of this Parish, 



" and to come and labour among us in the work 
" of the Gospel ministry ; hereby promising to you 
" all due respect and encouragement in the Lord. 
" We likewise entreat the Reverend Presbytery of 

" to approve and concur with this our most 

" cordial call ; and to use all the proper means for 

D D 



402 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" making the same effectual, by your ordination 
" and settlement among us, as soon as the steps 
" necessary thereto will admit. In witness whereof 
" we subscribe these presents, at the Church of 
u on the day of , years." 

Now, supposing that, as sometimes happened, 
there were in the parish six hundred elders and 
communicants against this minister, and in his 
favour only one member, the publican of the place, 
for example ; the result would be, that the form of 
a call, which, instead of saying, " I, the publican of 
" such a place call you," should say, " We, the 
" Heritors, Elders, &c. call you," would, officially, 
and in a sacred matter, utter a falsehood. The 
Veto was meant to put a stop to this immorality ; 
for it is not by immoralities and untruths that the 
church of the living and true God is to be governed. 

It would, no doubt, have been better for the 
church, if, instead of passing the Veto Act, she had 
simply decreed that the call of the flock could only 
be valid when signed by the majority of the elders 
and communicants. This mode would have been 
more unfavourable to the patrons than the Veto ; 
for it is more easy to find people who will abstain 
than those who will come forward to oppose. But 
the form would then have been more natural, and 
the morality of the measure more evident to all. 
I know not the reasons which prevented it from 
being adopted. I can only add that both measures 
— the one I have pointed out, and that which was 
followed — come precisely to the same thing, and 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 403 

the one as well as the other would have been re- 
jected by the patrons. The church, according to 
my proposition, would have had the form more 
completely in her favour ; but I do not think that 
in such a case the form would have prevailed over 
the reality. 

The state in which the church then was, is suffi- 
cient to prove the necessity of re-establishing the 
truth within her. Such had been the sufferings of 
the flocks under the influence of the Act of Queen 
Anne, that, in a country so little inclined to dissent as 
Scotland, six hundred new congregations had formed 
themselves without the pale of the church ; while 
the latter, notwithstanding a considerable increase 
of population, only numbered sixty new ones ; and 
even these sixty were due to the evangelical life 
which afterwards produced the Free Church. It 
was evident that the church was in a state of suf- 
fering, and it was necessary to use some means to 
infuse new vigour into her enfeebled frame. 

If we examine into the nature of the relations 
which ought to exist between a pastor and his flock, 
we shall more clearly recognise the necessity for a 
law like that we are now considering. 

The pastoral relationship is, with the Scotch, of 
a spiritual nature, based upon the feeling of a mu- 
tual contract agreeable to the Most High. If a 
congregation may not refuse the preacher presented 
to them, except by stating under different heads 
the motives of their dissent, the legality of which 
the superior courts are afterwards to judge, it would 

D D 2 



404 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

be as if, when a conjugal union was to be formed 
it should be required, not that the parties be agreed, 
and have a mutual affection for each other, but 
merely that their interests should coincide, and 
that there should be no legal obstacle to their mar- 
riage. Must a girl prove to her father or guardian, 
by depositions taken under her hand, that her pro- 
posed husband is vicious, in debt, or obnoxious to 
the law ? Would it not be sufficient for her to 
state her conviction that this man could not make 
her happy? To establish a truly cordial relationship 
between the minister and his flock ought to be the 
desire and the aim of the church. " Not for that 
" we have dominion over your faith," says St. Paul, 
" but are helpers of your joy." (2 Cor. i. 24.) 

Will all this be considered visionary ? Shall we 
throw away a vital religion, which proposes, above 
all things, to satisfy the requirements of the heart, 
and substitute for it a religion of forms, of clergy, 
of tribunals, and of political courts ? God forbid ! 

If there is any thing which, in my opinion, shows 
to what a degree of spirituality God has raised the 
Church of Scotland, it is this intimacy which she 
requires between the pastor and his flock. There 
is not a Christian, nay, not even a philosopher, who 
ought not to be filled with admiration at this pro- 
found and true understanding of the most sacred 
of all relationships. And this is the venerable 
sentiment which the tribunals would trample under 
foot. Shall we tear the wreath from the virgin's 
brow ? 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 405 

The adversaries of the church required that the 
flock should categorically state the motives for 
their refusal, and called upon the higher church 
courts to decide for or against these motives. Thus, 
the right of refusal was misplaced; the decision 
was taken from the flock, and given to these church 
courts. A right which I possess, under the con- 
dition that in every case the exercise of this right 
should depend upon another, is no right at all ; it 
is a mere shadow. 

Besides, a presentee may not be immoral, he may 
not be ignorant, he may not be an infidel, and he 
may even be strictly orthodox, without possessing 
vital godliness, without being converted, and con- 
sequently without the power either to convert or to 
edify others. Xow, it was only on the three first 
points that the parishioners were to be heard. It 
was not to ascertain whether the presentee had 
" passed from death unto life," as the Scripture 
says (1 John, iii. 14.). This is a matter which 
eludes judicial appreciation, and, yet, for poor 
Christians, it is one of vital import. 

The great theologian of Scotland rose against 
these claims of the friends of Patronage. " The 
" Christian people," said Chalmers, " may not be 
" able to state their objection, save in a very gene- 
" ral way ; and far less be able to plead and to 
" vindicate it at the bar of a Presbytery; and yet 
" the objection be a most substantial one notwith- 
" standing, and such as ought, both in all Christian 

D D 3 



406 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

reason, and Christian expediency, to set aside the 
presentation. 

" I will not speak of the moral barrier that is 
created to the usefulness of a minister by the 
mere general dislike of a people — for this may 
give way to experience of his worth. But 
there is another dislike than to the person of a 
minister ; — a dislike to his preaching, which may 
not be groundless, even though the people be 
wholly incapable of themselves arguing or justi- 
fying the grounds of it. Such is the adaptation 
of Scripture to the state of humanity, that even 
the most illiterate might perceive it most intelli- 
gently and soundly. Yet when required to give 
the reasons of his objection to a minister at the 
bar of his Presbytery, all the poor man can say 
for himself might be, that he does not preach the 
Gospel; or that, in his sermon, there is no food 
for his soul. ' I was an hungered and you gave 
' me no meat. 1 It were denying the adaptation of 
Christianity to human nature, to deny that this 
is a case which may be often and legitimately 
realised. With a perfect independence on the 
conceits and the follies, and the wayward extra- 
vagance of the humours of the populace, I have, 
nevertheless, the profoundest respect for all those 
manifestations of the popular feeling, which are 
founded on an accord ancy between the felt state 
of human nature and the subject-matter of the 
Gospel ; and, more especially, when their demand 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 407 

" is for those truths which are of chief prominency 
" in the Bible. But in very proportion to my 
" sympathy, and my depth of veneration for the 
" Christian appetency of such cottage patriots, 
" would be the painfulness I should feel when the 
" cross -questionings of a court of review were 
" brought to bear upon them ; and the men bam- 
" boozled and bereft of utterance by the reasonings 
" which they could not re-argue, or, perhaps, the 
" ridicule which they could not withstand, were 
H left to the untold agony of their own hearts — 
" because within the establishment which they 
" loved, they could not find, in its Sabbath minis- 
" trations, or week-day services, the doctrine that 
M was dear to them. 

" To overbear such men," exclaimed that Scot- 
tish divine, whom all Europe looked upon with 
respect, " is the highway to put an extinguisher 
" on the Christianity of our land, — the Chris- 
" tianity of our ploughmen, our artisans, our men 
•1 of handicraft and of hard labour : yet not the 
" Christianity theirs of deceitful imagination, or of 
" implicit deference to authority ; but the Chris- 
" tianity of deep, I will add, of rational belief, 
" firmly and profoundly seated in the principles of 
" our moral nature, and nobly accredited by the 
" virtues of our well-conditioned peasantry. In 
" the older time of Presbytery, - — that time of Scrip- 
u tural Christianity in our pulpits, and of psalmody 
" in all our cottages, — these men grew and multi- 
" plied in the land ; and, though derided in the 

D D 4 



408 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" heartless literature, and discountenanced and dis- 
" owned in the heartless politics of other days, it is 
" their remnant which acts as a preserving salt 
" among our people, and which constitutes the real 
" strength and glory of the Scottish nation." 

An anecdote related by Chalmers in the General 
Assembly of 1840, will illustrate this idea more 
forcibly. " An illiterate female," said he, " in 
" humble life, applied for admission to the sacra- 
" ment ; but at the customary examination, could 
" not frame one articulate reply to a single ques- 
" tion that was put to her. It was in vain to ask 
" her of the offices or mediation of Christ, or of the 
■" purposes of His death. Not one word could be 
" drawn out of her ; and yet there was a certain 
" air of intelligent seriousness, the manifestations 
" of right and appropriate feeling — a heart and a 
" tenderness indicated, not by one syllable of utter- 
" ance, but by the natural signs of emotion which 
u fitly responded to the topics of the clergyman, 
" whether she was spoken to of the sin that con- 
" demned, or of the Saviour who atoned for her. 
" Still, as she could make no distinct reply to any 
" of his questions, he refused to enroll her as a 
" communicant ; when she, on retiring, called out, 
" in the fulness of her heart, - I cannot speak for 
" i Him, but I could die for Him ! • The minister, 
" overpowered, handed to her a sacramental token; 
" and with good reason, although not a reason fell 
" in utterance from her. And so, too, with the 
" collective mind of many a rustic congregation, 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 409 

' that thinks aright, and feels aright, without one 
' propounded reason, which, if put into a record 
' could adequately represent the whole truth of 
» sentiment that kindles in their bosoms, and 
i lights up there a clearness of perception, as well 
' as sensibility, which, however beyond the reach 
' of their expression, is of one analysis, gives all 
' the authority of justice to their collective voice. 
1 To confine the Presbytery to the reason of these 
I men, and debar us from all the conclusions 
' grounded on direct sympathy with the men them- 
4 selves, were to do them the grossest injustice." 

Thus spoke Chalmers. I do not think that the 
most sacred interests of the church have ever been 
defended with more admirable eloquence, and more 
triumphant evidence. 

Yet a question presented itself : Should not the 
Veto Act, passed by the General Assembly, have 
been approved by the Parliament, in order to 
render it legal? 

That the Parliament ought to have sanctioned 
it, does not, in my opinion, admit of a doubt. The 
Parliament ought, even now, to do a great deal 
more ; it ought to repeal the illegal Act of Queen 
Anne, and thus abolish patronage. This is re- 
quired from it by the faith of the treaties on which 
the Union of Scotland and England is based. 

It is, therefore, evident that as the legislative body 
ought to have done more, it was still more incum- 
bent upon it to do less. 

The Parliament ought eagerly to have seized 



410 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

the proffered opportunity of redressing the unlawful 
acts of its despotic predecessors in the stormy 
periods of Jacobitism. Every thing seemed to 
indicate that this would be the course of the civil 
power. 

In fact, Lord Moncrieff, who moved the Veto Act 
in the General Assembly, and who was, as we have 
already seen, one of the highest legal authorities of 
the Church of Scotland, had proposed this act, as 
being " entirely within the powers of the church." 
The Assembly had also the advice of her own 
Advocate, and other distinguished lawyers among 
her members. She had besides in her favour 
the Lord Advocate of Scotland, the celebrated Lord 
Jeffrey, intrusted by the crown with the defence of 
its judicial rights. Lastly, she possessed the 
approbation of the Lord High Commissioner, sent 
by His Majesty, to be present as his representative 
at the debates of the General Assembly. 

Nay more, Parliament appeared to incline in 
favour of the Yeto. Lord Brougham, who was then 
Chancellor, said, on the 23d July, 1834, when pre- 
senting to the House the petition for the Abolition 
of Patronage : — " The recent Act passed in the 
M Assembly (the Veto Act) will go a great way 
" in smoothing the path to a satisfactory conclusion. 
" It would have been premature of the legislature 
" to adopt any measures without the acquiescence 
" of that important body. It is most satisfactory 
" to my mind, that they have taken up the question 
" in the spirit they have done ; and that the result 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 411 

" of their deliberations has been, the adoption of 
" those important resolutions which have passed in 
" their last session." 

The defenders of the rights of the church did 
not come forward rashly. They had cautiously 
felt their way, and were supported by the most 
respectable authorities. 

But supposing that Parliament should refuse to 
sanction the Yeto, would the act, in that case, 
remain legal ? 

I have some doubts on this matter. The 
Christian must be subject to the government de 
facto, even when that government has not right on 
its side. I therefore think, that what really did 
happen in 1843 was the only solution possible; 
and that the church could not maintain her Veto 
in spite of the state, otherwise than by renouncing 
all alliance with that state. 

The Veto Act, from 1833 to 1843, marked the 
end of the reign of Mocleratism in the Church of 
Scotland, and the commencement of that of evan- 
gelical principles. Thus, precisely a century after 
the first secession in 1733 had proclaimed the 
necessity of a reformation of ecclesiastical govern- 
ment, the ancient principles of Scottish Presbyte- 
rianism were reinstated in the church. 

The kindly effects of the Veto were not long in 
displaying themselves ; and they were manifold. 
That class of divinity students, so numerous every 
where, and who had hitherto been so in Scotland 
— young men without piety and without a call — 



412 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

who devoted themselves to the ministry as to a 
business by which they were to gain a living, 
almost entirely disappeared; and pious and de- 
voted pastors, men of faith and men of prayer, as in 
the early times, rapidly increased within the church. 
Other blessings also crowned this work. Thirty 
congregations, which had seceded from the church, 
returned to her bosom. At the same time, though 
during the hundred years previous to the Yeto, only 
sixty-three churches had been built in- Scotland by 
voluntary contributions, two hundred were erected 
during the nine years which elapsed between the 
passing of the Veto and the disruption of 1843. 
Thus, before the Veto, there had been built little 
more than half a church in a year, and afterwards 
more than twenty-two in the same time. Even 
in the very year following the Veto — from 1834 
to 1835 — sixty-four new churches were seen to 
rise ; that is, in a single year, one church more than 
under the influence of patronage during a whole 
century. But immediately after this, a powerful 
opposition was formed against the church. 



IV. 

AUCHTERARDER AND MARNOCH. 

The opposition included, both in Scotland and 
in England, a considerable number of honourable 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 413 

men, to whose public characters we are happy to 
pay the tribute of merited respect. 

There were politicians who, with minds pre- 
occupied above all things with the state, and 
its prerogatives, were afraid of the independence 
of the church, and desired to establish the ecclesi- 
astical supremacy of the government. 

There were lawyers, who by the very forms into 
which their minds had been moulded by their 
professional studies, were unprepared to conceive a 
purely spiritual question ; who exaggerated, with- 
out being aware of it, the jurisdiction of the civil 
courts ; and claimed to bring before them those 
cases which, by the constitutions both of church 
and state, ought not to be subjected to their judg- 
ment. 

There were patrons, who believed themselves 
possessed of incontestable rights to the appoint- 
ment of ministers, and who were unwilling to be 
deprived of them by the church, 

But if we may believe the prevailing sentiment 
in Scotland, there was yet a fourth class, which 
was one of the most influential. There were men 
opposed to the Gospel. Perceiving that the Yeto 
Act, which they had at first regarded merely as a 
liberal measure, would favour the pre-eminence of 
evangelical principles in Scotland, these men turned 
against it. The resurrection of the ancient Presby- 
terianism, with its faith, its vitality, its decision, 
its strict morality, its Christian works, and its inde- 



414 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

pendence, alarmed the world. Life has always 
terrified the dead. 

It was thought necessary to get rid of some of 
the most pious and most decided leaders of the 
movement. Finding that there was too much 
animation and strength in the body of the church, 
it was determined, as one of our Swiss govern- 
ments (Vaud) has lately done, to give that body 
an effectual bleeding; to open a vein, and draw 
from it its richest blood. 

These various opposing parties set immediately 
to work. Let us mark their first steps. 

On the 14th October, 1834, the parish of Auch- 
terarder being vacant, Lord Kinnoull presented to 
it, as pastor, Mr. Robert Young, and the flock was 
required to meet for moderating in the call. This 
parish contained three thousand one hundred and 
eighty-two souls. When the time arrived for 
signing the call, three individuals of the three 
thousand one hundred and eighty-two came for- 
ward. Three individuals ! one of these was his 
lordship's factor, who did not reside in the parish ; 
the other two were householders in the place, 
Michael Tod, and Peter Clerk. But at the same 
time, two hundred and eighty heads of families, 
almost the whole of the communicants, for the 
number on the roll was three hundred and thirty, 
signed an act by which they disapproved of the 
presentee, whom they did not consider fit for their 
edification. I will not speak of the individual per- 
sonally ; he is still living ; besides, I am unac- 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 415 

quaintecl with him, except by sight. One day, 
as I was crossing the bridge of Perth, in company 
with an elder of the Established Church, Mr. 
Young was passing also : he pointed him out to 
me, saying, " There is the man who was the first 
" occasion of all our troubles." My friend even 
stopped a moment, and exchanged a few words 
with him. My knowledge of him is confined to 
this. 

This matter was brought, in succession, before 
the Presbytery, the Synod, and the General Assem- 
bly. All these ecclesiastical bodies decided in 
favour of the flock. Lord Kinnoull and Mr. Young 
then appealed to the Court of Session ; and this 
body, which, by the decisions of 1571, several times 
recognised by themselves, particularly in 1749 in 
the case of Dunse, had no right to interfere in 
cases of election, calling, or admission of ministers 
to ecclesiastical functions, — this civil court de- 
cided, by eight votes against five, that the re- 
jection of the presentee on the ground of the dis- 
sent of the people was illegal, and ordered the 
Presbytery to alter their resolution, and to ordain 
the presentee. 

I do not think that in any of the Protestant 
churches of the Continent a single minister could 
be found, (unless, perhaps, among the most de- 
cided nationalists and Unitarians,) who would con- 
sent to ordain a minister for the sake of obedience 
to a magistrate's command. I have seen some 
ministers well known for an attachment, perhaps 



416 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

even exaggerated, to the principles of nationality, 
disclaim the idea with abhorrence. It is an 
enormity unheard of even in England. More 
sympathy might have been expected from the 
bench of bishops, at the idea of this enormity, 
which has been attempted in Scotland alone. No 
bishop would ordain a minister by order of a civil 
court. What also renders this act still more strik- 
ing is the circumstance, that the only country of 
Christendom in which these unreasonable encroach- 
ments of the rulers have taken place, is the very 
one in which the principles of the liberty of the 
church have been most fully developed. 

Her whole history most clearly exhibits, that 
if the church is not the mistress of the state, yet 
neither is she the servant. Scotland shed her 
most precious blood in the course of the seven- 
teenth century for the defence of her spiritual 
independence. She could not now abandon it. 
And if there were still worldly people, insensible 
either to the doctrine of evangelical freedom or 
to the memory of their fathers, yet at least they 
should have remembered that these very prin- 
ciples formed the basis of the Treaty of Union 
between England and Scotland. 

Another fact soon presented itself. The minister 
of the parish of Marnoch had been obliged, on ac- 
count of his age and infirmities, to employ an 
assistant, Mr. John Edwards, who, during the 
three years that he officiated in that capacity, made 
himself so much disliked by the parishioners, that 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 417 

the old pastor, yielding to the general desire, re- 
moved him. The minister being now dead, the 
patron, Lord Fife, presented this same Mr. Ed- 
wards, on the 27th of September, 1837, and a day 
was appointed for moderating in the call. But when 
the time came for signing it, all the parishioners 
sat still ; and only one came forward, — the inn- 
keeper of Aberchirder. At the same time the 
six elders who formed the session, and two hun- 
dred and fifty-four heads of families, out of two 
hundred and ninety-three, declared they could not 
call this preacher. The ministry of a man who 
had already officiated for three years in the parish, 
and who was then desired by no one but the 
innkeeper, could not certainly conduce to the 
edification of souls ; the patron, therefore, wisely 
withdrew the presentee. But, wonderful to relate, 
the Presbytery of Strathbogie, to which Marnoch 
belonged, and the majority of which was composed 
of men devoted to Moderatism, resolved to sup- 
port Mr. Edwards. The superior church autho- 
rities, the Synod, and the General Assembly, de- 
cided, on the contrary, in favour of the flock. 

Another candidate, Mr. Henry, was now pre- 
sented by the patron ; but Mr. Edwards, determined 
upon maintaining what he called his rights, applied 
to the civil courts. The Court of Session decided 
in his favour ; and the Presbytery, without regard 
to the superior authority of the church, to which 
they owed obedience, resolved to settle Mr. Ed- 
wards as minister of Marnoch. 

E E 



418 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

It was then that Dr. Candlish, a minister in the 
vigour of his age, of vital piety and unconquerable 
courage, endowed with prompt and just under- 
standing, and with manly and powerful eloquence, 
arose in the Commission of the General Assembly, 
and proposed an energetic measure, yet conform- 
able to the law. He demanded the suspension of 
the seven disobedient members of the Presbytery 
of Strathbogie. This motion was carried by one 






hundred and twenty-one against fourteen. 

The strife had now commenced between the civil 
and the ecclesiastical courts, and a mighty struggle 
ensued between these two powers, which was not, 
it is true, to bring in its train either drowning 
or the gibbet, but which was destined to end in the 
divorce and entire separation of the two powers. 
This solution is at least worth the other. 

The suspended ministers, astonished and irritated 
at this bold measure of their ecclesiastical supe- 
riors, again had recourse to the civil courts ; and 
the latter forbade the sentence of the Assembly to 
be intimated in the churches, churchyards, or 
school-houses ; and interdicted any other ministers 
than the seven recusants from preaching in their 
churches. The church recognised the rights of the 
civil power over the public buildings, but inti- 
mated its sentence in the open air ; and the minis- 
ters sent to supply the place of those whom the 
Assembly had suspended, preached the Gospel in 
places independent of the state. 

This firmness of the General Assembly excited 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 419 

still more the anger of the world, and reproaches 
and accusations were uttered against it on all sides ; 
but, says the Word of God, " If ye be reproached 
" for the name of Christ, happy are ye : for the 
" Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.'' 
(1 Peter, iv. 14.) This promise was wonderfully 
realised. A remarkable out-pouring of the Holy 
Spirit took place at that time, and there was in 
Scotland a religious revival, such as had not been 
witnessed for more than a century. At Kilsyth, 
Dundee, Perth, Blairgowrie, Jedburgh, Kelso; in 
Ross-shire, Sutherlandshire, and other places, mul- 
titudes of sinners forsook their evil ways, and the 
backsliding members of the church returned to 
their first love. Even in the parishes of the sus- 
pended ministers, the substitutes sent by the Ge- 
neral Assembly, who preached in barns, in tents, 
and in the fields, often saw the auditory affected to 
tears. The Gospel thus penetrated into the very 
strongholds of Moderatism. " Our soul was cleav- 
" ing to the dust, but Thou hast quickened us 
" according to thy word." (Psalm cxix. 26.) 

The delay granted by the General Assembly to 
the seven ministers of Strathbogie, to submit them- 
selves to their authority, having been ineffectual, a 
formal indictment was served upon them, for hav- 
ing demanded and received from a civil court the 
power of exercising the sacred functions ; though 
that power had been taken from them by a spi- 
ritual court, the only lawful authority in such 
matters, according to the Confession of Faith, which 

E E 2 



420 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

they themselves had sworn to. This accusation 
was carried at two different times ; the first by one 
hundred and ninety-one to sixty- six, and the second, 
three months later, by ninety-one to fifteen. 

The seven suspended ministers yet hesitated to 
take the last step, and ordain Mr. Edwards as 
minister at Marnoch. He, however, determined to 
go on to the end, and brought an action against the 
Presbytery, demanding, if they refused to induct 
him, the sum of 11,000^. for damages and expenses. 
The court did not hesitate to sanction these pro- 
ceedings by its justly revered authority, and ordered 
the Presbytery to induct Mr. Edwards. The civil 
courts thus annihilated the distinction which for 
three centuries had been established between spiri- 
tual and secular matters ; they took into their own 
hands " the power of the keys," which the Confes- 
sion of Faith denies to the civil magistrate. No- 
thing similar to this had been seen in Scotland, 
except during the disastrous times of Charles II. All 
was now prepared for carrying out their decision. 

On the 20th of January, 1841, so great a quan- 
tity of snow had fallen that the country was com- 
pletely covered, and the roads rendered almost 
impassable. Yet, the next day, notwithstanding 
the severity of the weather, a considerable crowd, 
consisting of about two thousand persons, repaired 
to Marnoch from all the adjacent places. The 
parishioners filled the body of the church, but the 
galleries and the approaches were filled with stran- 
gers. The seven suspended ministers, accompanied 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 421 

by Mr. Edwards, entered the building ; and a 
strange scene now commenced in the sanctuary of 
the living God. The legal agent of the parishioners 
having asked the suspended ministers whether they 
were sent by the General Assembly, the supreme 
authority of the churcli ; they refused to answer, 
and declared that they intended to proceed in their 
functions in the name of the law. Then the voice 
of the parish was heard in a clear, serious, solemn 
manner. A protest, signed by four hundred and 
fifty communicants, was read in the name of the 
elders, heads of families, and other church members 
of Marnoch, wherein they declared the interference 
of the civil courts in spiritual things illegal ; dis- 
claimed the jurisdiction of the seven ministers sus- 
pended from ecclesiastical functions by the highest 
authority of the church ; and declared themselves 
ready to prove, before any lawful Presbytery, their 
objections to the life and doctrine of Mr. Edwards. 
" You and Mr. Edwards," said the poor parish- 
ioners of Marnoch, in conclusion, to the Presby- 
tery — " you drive us from this house in which we 
" and our fathers have so often met, and in which 
u we would gladly have assembled ourselves toge- 
" ther till the day of our death. We leave this 
" meeting ; but our hearts remain attached to the 
" cliurch of our fathers.' 7 

After these words the whole flock arose. There 
were aged men with heads white as the snow 
which then covered the hills ; men in the prime 
of life, full of decision and energy ; youths, just 

E E 3 



422 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

entering into manhood, who had, as yet, sat but 
once or twice at the table of the Lord. All arose 
as one man. In the pews lay their Bibles and 
Psalm-books, many of which had already served 
more than one generation, and had never for a 
century left the place where they were now lying. 
Every parishioner took up his Bible and Psalm- 
book, and all in a body quitted the temple of their 
fathers, leaving the seven ministers to ordain to the 
walls the presentee, whose only partisan, the inn- 
keeper, had not even made his appearance. The 
building remained in the possession of Edwards ; 
but without the flock, without their Bibles. An 
enemy had made forcible entry into the citadel ; 
but the garrison, overpowered, yet not conquered, 
had evacuated it with their arms and baggage, and 
the bare walls alone remained. The people con- 
tinued leaving the building. All were sad, many 
shed tears. These pious men were seen crossing the 
snow-covered fields slowly and mournfully, wrapt in 
their plaids, with their Bibles under their arms, 
and looking back, from time to time, to the house 
of their prayers and their praises. After the con- 
gregation had departed, the strangers who sur- 
rounded the church rushed in, and some, indignant 
at the wrong done to their countrymen, caused a 
little confusion. As soon as order was restored, the 
usual questions were put to Edwards : — " Are not 
" zeal for the honour of God, love to Jesus Christ, 
" and desire for saving souls your great motives and 
" chief inducements to enter into the office of the 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 423 

" holy ministry, and not worldly designs and inte- 
" rests?" He answered audibly, fi Yes." At this 
reply a shudder of awe and horror — a deep and 
solemn feeling — pervaded the Assembly. The act 
of ordination was then completed, by order of a 
civil] court, and without the presence of a single 
parishioner. After this, the seven suspended mi- 
nisters withdrew amidst the hisses of the crowd ; 
and the new-made pastor walked out surrounded 
by policemen. 

The Marnoch intrusion* caused great sensation 
throughout Scotland, and Christians every where 
gave proofs of their brotherly love to this poor but 
faithful flock. The summer following, a new and 
pretty church, built by the contributions of their 
brethren, rose upon those hills ; to which the parish- 
ioners, driven from their former temple, could carry 
their dear old Bibles and Psalm-books, and again 
sing, as their fathers had done, the praises of the 
thrice Holy God, who is in all times the refuge and 
the salvation of His people. 

V 

THE THIRD REFORMATION. 
I 

While these events were passing, the church, and 
the General Assembly which represented her, re- 

* It has been called in Scotland " the Marnoch crime." 
e e 4 



424 HISTOEICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

mained firmly attached to the principles of her 
fathers. At the meeting of Assembly in 1838, the 
decisions of the civil courts were laid before them. 
The ministers and elders who had repaired to their 
posts, were all fully sensible of the importance 
of the crisis. " It now remains to be seen," said 
they, " whether the civil courts are the rulers of 
" the church, or the ministers and elders, to whom 
ft Christ, according to our Confession, has intrusted 
fi its government. Shall we be less free than the 
u bishops of the English Church, of whom no one 
" dares to ask an account of their reasons for re- 
" fusing to ordain any presentee ? We will give 
u up all, — our churches, our manses, our glebes, 
" our stipends, — rather than acknowledge the en- 
" croachments by which a worldly power intends 
u to trample under foot the inheritance of our 
H fathers." 

So spoke these noble Scotchmen. A minister of 
Glasgow, Dr. Buchanan, proposed the following 
resolution : — fif The General Assembly, while they 
u unqualifiedly acknowledge the exclusive jurisdic- 
?S tion of the civil courts in regard to the civil 
" rights and emoluments secured by law to the 
" church, and will ever give and inculcate implicit 
" obedience to their decisions in such matters, do 
" resolve, that, as is declared in the Confession of 
" Faith of this National Established Church : ' The 
u ' Lord Jesus Christ, as King and Head of the 
u i Church, hath therein appointed a government in 
" ' the hand of church officers, distinct from the civil 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 425 

" f magistrate ; ' and that, in all matters toucliing 
" the doctrine, government, and discipline of the 
" church, her judicatories possess an exclusive 
" jurisdiction, founded on the Word of God, ' which 
" f power ecclesiastical flows immediately from God 
" f and the Mediator, and is spiritual, not having a 
u ' temporal head on earth, but only Christ, the 
" \ only spiritual King and Governor of his church.' 
$ And they do farther resolve, that this spiritual 
u jurisdiction, and the sole Headship of the Lord 
•' Jesus Christ, on which it depends, they will assert, 
" and at all hazards defend by the help and blessing 
" of God." 

Thus Scotland beheld the fulfilment of this 
promise : 6 He shall turn the heart of the children 
" to their fathers" (Mai. iv. 6.); and the church, 
again taking her stand upon that ancient Rock, once 
defended by her martyrs, prepared to await with 
faith and courage the shock of the winds, the floods, 
and the tempest. 

This resolution passed by a majority of forty-one. 

The national enthusiasm in this serious struggle 
was still increasing. The people, both in towns 
and in the country, especially in the Highlands, 
were zealous for the cause of independence, but 
most of the nobility were in favour of patronage. 
The Marquis of Breadalbane was then almost alone 
in following the generous footsteps of the ancient 
Earls of Loudon and Sutherland. Petitions signed 
by 260,000 of the most pious of Scotland's sons, 
demanded the maintenance of the constitution of 



426 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

the church of their fathers. Few were indifferent, 
all were either for or against it, and the ferment 
was general. 

The Moderate party then displayed a decision 
which they had never shown since the time of 
Eobertson. They thought the moment was now 
at hand for recovering their former dominion. 
The Assembly having in 1840 rejected a bill of a 
distinguished statesman, Lord Aberdeen, which in 
their opinion was calculated to legalise the attempts 
of the civil courts, and having in 1841, in their 
Commission, decided upon addressing a remonstrance 
to the ministers who supported the suspended clergy- 
men of Strathbogie in their disobedience; the Mo- 
derate party determined upon taking the necessary 
steps to ascertain from the government whether 
they themselves should not be considered as con- 
stituting the church, and therefore alone entitled 
to the privileges and emoluments conferred by the 
laws. 

Thus the minority proposed to drive out the 
majority. The Moderates claimed to set them- 
selves in the place of the Evangelicals. 

Upon this an extraordinary meeting of the Com- 
mission of the General Assembly was convened. 
On the 25th August, 1841, a great concourse was 
gathered at Edinburgh. From the mountains of 
the north, from the plains of the south, from the 
east and from the west of Scotland, they had come 
at no other call than that of the church's danger. 
Nothing like it had been seen since that memorable 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 427 

day when the Covenant was signed in the Grey- 
friars' churchyard. The Commission resolved upon 
maintaining inviolate the independence of the 
church, or of perishing in its defence ; and on the 
evening of the same clay, one of the most spacious 
buildings of Edinburgh, the 'West Church, was filled 
with an immense crowd. Twelve hundred minis- 
ters and elders were in the nave, and the double 
galleries of the edifice were filled with a multi- 
tude of Christian men and women, determined upon 
following the Lord wheresoever He should call them. 
A venerable, ^rave, and wise minister, of heartfelt 
piety, one of whom many said, " We do not well 
u understand the question, but wherever that dis- 
" ciple of Jesus goes we will follow," — Dr. Gordon, — 
presided at this meeting. Dr. Cancllish gave way 
to the energy of his feelings, and drew along with 
him the whole auditory, trembling and glowing 
at his burning words. A deputation from the 
Irish Presbyterians announced to their brethren of 
Scotland that the sons of Erin were ready to aid 
them with their sympathy and their prayers ; and 
the Scotchmen settled in the fertile fields of 
England declared that the church of their fathers 
would find them faithful in the hour of peril. 
When this solemn meeting was concluded, three 
thousand Christians rose with a spontaneous im- 
pulse, and sang with one heart, u Our feet shall 
" stand in thy gates, Jerusalem ! " and the rest 
of the 122d Psalm. 

The adverse party then redoubled their efforts, 



428 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

and set such new springs in motion as are generally 
found effectual. The government endeavoured by 
diplomatic negotiations to induce the majority of 
the Assembly to coincide with their views ; and the 
political press asserted that the ministry were ready 
to give up the independence of the church provided 
they might secure their emoluments. These reports 
filled Scotland with alarm. " Can it be possible," 
it was said, "that the servants of the Word of 
u God should be caught in the nets of a crafty 
" policy?" There were, it is true, some few who 
were caught, and in them they remained. But the 
church soon learned that she might expect totally 
different resolutions from those faithful and cou- 
rageous ministers whose names will stand in the 
annals of Christianity as a crown of glory for 
Scotland. 

The General Assembly met in 1842, and Dr. 
Welsh was Moderator. One step yet remained to 
be taken — to memorialise the Queen ; and upon 
this they decided. 

After a motion respecting patronage, proposed 
by Dr. Cunningham, Mr. Dunlop, an elder of the 
church, and an eminent lawyer, presented a " decla- 
" ration against the unconstitutional encroachments 
" of the civil courts," signed by one hundred and 
fifty members of the Assembly. This remarkable 
document having been read amid deep silence, 
Dr. Chalmers, who had risen in 1833, in the first 
Assembly which had claimed the rights of the 
church, arose once more in that last meeting which 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 429 

was to terminate the existence of Evangelical pre- 
dominance in the National Church of Scotland, and 
moved, that the declaration be adopted. " It is no 
" question," said he, with that noble and powerful 
eloquence which characterises him, — " it is no mere 
" question of individual or party wrangling, but a 
" great constitutional question concerning the re- 
" spective jurisdictions of two distinct and yet 
" co-ordinate powers, each of them independent 
" and supreme within its own sphere. With what 
" formidable evils are we not inevitably threatened, 
" if the Parliament allows the civil courts to per- 
" sist in their encroachments on the constitutional 
" jurisdictions of the church, and to grant orders 
" in spiritual matters which conscience is compelled 
u to reject, and to employ the argument of physical 
" force, as if violence was to be set up in the place 
" of right. Such arguments have been already 
a employed," continued the orator, " but they may 
" be taken up by men who have the strength of 
■ millions of the ungodly and sinners upon their 
" side, and poured forth in some wide-spread war 
" of turbulence and disorder over the face of our 
" commonwealth." 

Chalmers well knew, that when once religious 
liberty is trampled under foot, all other liberties 
are endangered. The motion was adopted by a 
majority of one hundred and thirty-one, and the 
Moderator delivered to the Lord High Commis- 
sioner, the respected Marquis of Bute, the Church's 
Claim of Rights, requesting him to present it to 



430 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

her Majesty. A separate address was also presented 
to Queen Victoria, praying her to take measures 
towards the abolition of Patronage. 

The Assembly of 1842 thus commenced in Scot- 
land the Third Reformation. 

I will here mention a circumstance of trifling 
importance, but which may be considered as an 
example of that decision of character to be found 
in Scotland, which may, perhaps, be sought for in 
vain elsewhere. A minister, deposed by the As- 
sembly, being in possession of the parish church 
of Rhynie, on the morning of the 13th of June, 
the whole people of the place assembled before 
day-break, at a spot which a generous Christian 
had given them whereon to build another church. 
The opposite party had threatened them with an 
interdict, which, if produced the next day, or even 
that evening, might have prevented them from 
building their church. The permission of the 
General Assembly for the erection of the chapel 
had just arrived. All immediately set to work. The 
masons, builders, and carpenters of Solomon and 
Hiram (1 Kings, v.), never displayed such activity 
on Mount Zion, as that little band of poor and 
obscure Scottish Christians in erecting their 
humble chapel. They had already prepared 
timber, and quarried stone from the neighbouring 
mountains. Labourers, masons, and carpenters 
worked with willing hands ; and, thanks to their 
vigorous efforts, before the evening of the same 
day, a spacious and commodious edifice was ready 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 431 

to receive the worshippers of the living God. A 
church was built in one day ! 

This was a symbol. When God's own time 
should arrive, the Free Church of Scotland, raised 
by the faith of a whole people, would also be set 
up in a day. " Behold the day ; behold it is 
" come.' 7 (Ezek. vii. 10.) 

All, indeed, now tended towards this. On the 
first week of July, in the mountains, valleys, 
villages, and towns of Scotland, crowded meetings 
were held in different places. Clear and eloquent 
addresses enlightened the public mind upon the 
principles which the General Assembly had re- 
cently professed ; men's consciences were con- 
vinced, and enthusiastic applause manifested the 
adherence of the people. There was a great ex- 
citement in Scotland ; an excitement of a legiti- 
mate character, which, far from infringing the laws, 
claimed, as a right, the execution of the most 
solemn treaties. 

P .iiow mmillA 1 

:>(iroIo? ibo baa K a°ishihjd. t 8fic 

has looq d ehili :h <aoiS tajoM no 

VI. 
bi ilT 

gfli'i STRUGGLES OF THE CHURCH AND STATE. 

An important event now responded mournfully 
to this national movement, and hurried the church 
towards her complete enfranchisement. The 



432 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

House of Lords was to pronounce a final deci- 
sion between the civil courts and the General 
Assembly. The anxious looks of Scotland were 
fixed upon the proceedings of this tribunal. There 
was little hope. On the one hand, how was it to 
be expected that a court, the majority of which was 
composed of English and Irish lords, should com- 
prehend a Scottish question, which seemed difficult 
even to many of the Scotch themselves ? Yet, on 
the other hand, might it not be hoped that these 
powerful lords, whose judgments ought to be formed 
on so elevated a standard, would rise above those 
clouds which obscure the sight of men who look 
from below ? Would not this high court remember 
the illegal act passed by its predecessors in 1712, 
and endeavour to make amends for it ? 

It was not the case of Marnoch and Strathbogie 
but that of Auchterarder and Mr. Young, which was 
then brought before the House of Lords. The Pres- 
bytery, the majority of which was composed of evan- 
gelical ministers and elders, had refused to ordain 
Mr. Young, who was objected to by almost all the 
communicants of the parish ; but that church court 
had, at the same time, awarded the fruits of the 
benefice to the lord patron. Nevertheless, Mr. 
Young brought an action for damages against the 
ministers and elders of the Presbytery, for having 
refused him, notwithstanding the decision of the 
civil courts, that ordination of which the Word of 
God says, "Lay hands suddenly on no man." 
(1 Tim. v. 22.) 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 433 

The House of Lords, and especially the Lord 
Chancellor and Lord Brougham, whose opinions 
were changed in regard to the Veto, decided, that 
for refusing to perform an act which should be the 
most unrestrained of any that can exist, — the con- 
secration of a minister to the service of God, — the 
Presbytery might be liable to an action for da- 
mages. 

On hearing this strange decision, the friends of 
the independence of the church were filled with 
consternation. " What," said they, " an assembly 
" of ministers and elders may be condemned for 
" refusing to perform a purely spiritual act, and 
" may be fined for obeying the dictates of their 
" conscience ! All ecclesiastical government and 
" discipline are thus at once laid prostrate. Nay, 
" there can be no longer any ecclesiastical courts ; 
" for the very essence of a court is its liberty to 
" decide according to its own convictions." 

From that moment it became evident to every 
man of sound judgment that the Church of Scot- 
land must break off all connection with the state. 
" Nothing now remains for us," said they, " but to 
" protest against these unconstitutional invasions, 
" and to retire, leaving to Him, who is the Prince 
" of the kings of the earth, to vindicate His cause 
" in His OAvn time." 

They must now be prepared for the event. The 
Lord was coming in his mighty power. His angel 
was to visit every manse, and every house in Scot- 
land, so that there should be a great cry through- 

F F 



434 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

out the land. It was not in the still small voice 
that the Lord was to be heard, but in a great and 
strong wind that rent the mountains (1 Kings, xix. 
11.) Scotland was to prepare to meet her God. 
(Amos, iv. 12.) 

In the month of October, thirty-two of the oldest 
ministers of this noble church, sent an address to 
those ministers who took the deepest interest in 
her liberties, inviting them to meet at Edinburgh 
on the 17 th November. A spirit of prayer and 
supplication was diffused throughout Scotland. 
Never, perhaps, had there been in the country of 
John Welsh, that man of prayer, such fervent and 
general devotion as during the week preceding the 
Convocation. " Not only," it was said, " are the 
" liberties of the church at stake, but the very 
" existence of evangelical religion." Therefore 
when these ministers had left their parishes, their 
flocks still continued their meetings for prayer. 
Even in the country villages, venerable patriarchs 
were to be found, who remembering that Christ 
has made his people a nation of priests, called pub- 
licly on the name of the Lord. " The whole mul- 
" titude of the people were praying ; " (Luke, i. 12.) 
crying " with a loud and bitter cry." (Est. iv. 1.) 

The Convocation met on the morning of the 17th 
of December, in St. George's Church, where Dr. Chal- 
mers preached on these impressive words : " Unto 
" the upright, there ariseth light in darkness." 
(Psalm cxii. 4.) On the evening of the same day, 
the deliberations, also presided over by Chalmers, 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 435 

commenced in another church. About five hundred 
ministers were present. All agreed in acknowledg- 
ing, that the decisions of the civil courts were 
subversive of the constitution of the church, and 
would shortly lead to its destruction, unless a 
remedy could be found to prevent so great an evil. 

But what was the remedy to be ? In this, 
opinions were divided. 

Some, considering that the British constitution 
had guaranteed the independence of the church, 
were desirous that this constitution should be de- 
fended, and that the church should retain her 
position as an establishment, until the state should 
be compelled to change its policy by the just indig- 
nation of the people. 

But the leaders of the movement — Chalmers, 
Candlish, and Cunningham — showed that this 
course would confound civil and spiritual duties ; 
that the church was not answerable for the integ- 
rity of the civil constitution, and, consequently, 
could not take upon herself to defend it ; and that 
by doing so, she would infallibly produce collisions, 
tumults, and, perhaps, even revolutions. 

Kenouncing, therefore, those political means of 
resistance, which had signalised the Scotland of 
former ages, these Christian men demanded that 
the church should decide upon maintaining her 
own independence ; and, if necessary for that pur- 
pose, should relinquish her union with the state, 
and all the temporal advantages the pastors re- 
ceived from government. The Convocation, which 

F F 2 



436 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

opened on the 17th November, was not concluded 
till the 24th. Several ministers had been obliged 
to return to their homes before the end of the 
meetings, nevertheless three hundred and fifty 
pastors signed the resolutions. 

These seven days of the Convocation were a 
season of great spiritual refreshing. A remarkable 
unity, a continued spirit of faith and of prayer, 
characterised this Assembly. All felt that their 
heavenly King, according to His promise, was truly 
in the midst of them. 

Besides the Kesolutions, the Convocation agreed 
upon " A Memorial to the Government," and " An 
61 Address to the People of Scotland." This address 
was soon sent from Edinburgh into every parish, 
and never perhaps has a more solemn appeal been 
laid before a nation. The former struggles which 
we have recounted; with the testimonies of Knox, 
Melvill, Welsh, Ersldne, and of so many more con- 
fessors, were eloquently recalled. 

" The Church of Scotland," said these ministers , 
" has been honoured to contend not more for the 
" doctrine of the Eedeemer's cross than for the 
" honour of His crown ; and this constitutes her 
u peculiar distinction amongst the churches of the 
" Keformation." [These words contain an import- 
ant truth.] 

" What are the passages in your national his- 
u tory," they afterwards continue, " which you 
" read with the most thrilling interest, and which 
" you would wish to be engraven on the minds 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 4o7 

" of your children ? What are the scenes in 
" your land of mountain and flood, on which you 
" gaze with feelings too deep for utterance ? Are 
" they not the passages which record the faithful 
" contendings of your forefathers for a pure Gospel 
"and a free church? — are they not the scenes 
" where many of them lie buried as martyrs in the 
" cause of civil and religious freedom ? They won 
" by their blood the privileges which you are called 
" to maintain by your efforts and prayers ; and 
" would you willingly have it said by posterity. 
" that you relinquished without a struggle the 
" birthright of your children, — or, that in the 
" calm and sunshine of outward prosperity, you 
" suffered that noble vessel to go down which was 
" reared in the tempest and rocked by the hurri- 
" cane?" 

Thus did the ministers of the Convocation ad- 
dress their people. What Scottish heart could 
remain unmoved ? 

Yet, though the House of Lords had decided, 
the voice of the government still remained to be 
heard. Would it not weigh more justly the great 
constitutional rights on which they were to decide ? 

It happened otherwise. The government, after 
receiving the memorial of the last Commission, 
returned an answer which annihilated all the hopes 
of the church: an answer, polite most certainly 
though imprudent, in which, combining what the 
Commission had purposely kept separate, " The 
" Claim of Rights," regarding the spiritual indepen- 

F F 3 



438 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

dence of the church as guaranteed by the consti- 
tution, and the " Address " concerning Patronage, 
the British minister declared that he was obliged 
to reject both petitions, in order to defend the 
privileges of the patrons. At the same time, 
he accused the church of attacking the rights of 
the state, whereas the General Assembly was justly 
conscious of having triumphantly refuted so un- 
founded an accusation. 

Perhaps, however, this misunderstanding of the 
government might have been expected. The English 
ministry, accustomed to the forms of the Episcopal 
Church, in which the flocks have no voice, in- 
fluenced by the speeches of the Scottish nobles and 
patrons, who were both judges and parties in the 
cause, and finding as much difficulty in putting 
themselves in the place of those beyond the Tweed, 
as of those beyond St. George's Channel, could 
scarcely avoid mistakes. Besides this, the crown, 
ever since the act of Queen Anne, had set far too 
high a value upon the right of nominating the 
ministers of more than three hundred parishes, and 
could not understand, that to secure the attachment 
of a people like the Scotch, it would be much the 
better way to allow them a share in church matters, 
and thus encourage the development of Christianity, 
than by reserving the right of appointing to a bene- 
fice some insignificant person recommended by a 
noble lord. 

The adversaries of the Scottish movement like- 
wise represented it in London as an affair of little 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 439 

importance, for the sake of which it was not worth 
while to sacrifice advantages they valued so highly. 
All this may explain how such a distinguished 
statesman as Sir James Graham could commit so 
great a fault. It is the greatest with which the Peel 
ministry can be reproached ; but it is, at the same 
time, one of those of which the victim may say: 
" Ye thought evil against me ; but God meant it 
11 unto good." (Gen. 1. 20.) 

According to the English ministry, (and this is 
even yet the judgment of many good men in 
England,) the church having infringed the law by 
the Yeto Act, the encroachments of the civil 
courts that ensued, were simply a necessary and 
natural re-action against the usurpations of the 
church. Here, in fact, lay the difficulty of the 
affair ; and with some little intelligence, which cer- 
tainly was not wanting, and a little patience, it 
might have been easily unravelled. But it appears 
that instead of taking the trouble to untie the 
knot, the government preferred having recourse to 
the sword of Alexander. Even supposing the Yeto 
to be an act opposed to the constitution of th^ 
United Kingdom, which we do not think it was, 
the English government might have declined to 
recognise it, or might have demanded some modi- 
fication: the church had declared her willingness 
to do so, and had stated this in her " Address to 
" the People of Scotland." The government might 
even have required the withdrawal of the act ; 
many of the most eminent men of the church 

F F 4 



440 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

would have agreed to do so in a spirit of concilia- 
tion, at the same time without sacrificing the prin- 
ciple itself. Yet while acting in this manner towards 
the church, the government should at the same 
time have declared that the Court of Session, first 
by inducing the ministers to continue their func- 
tions, after having been suspended or deprived by 
the highest authority of the church ; and secondly, 
by forbidding an ecclesiastical court, under pain of 
civil punishments, to lay hands on certain proba- 
tioners, — had done what no Scottish tribunal had 
ever been or could ever be allowed to do. By thus 
tolerating such usurpations in the civil courts, and 
throwing all the blame on the church, and none on 
the Court of Session, the government exhibited a 
partiality much to be regretted, and really made 
use of two weights and two measures ; giving Scot- 
land reason to fear, that they had determined upon 
the destruction of those spiritual rights for which 
their fathers had striven for so many centuries ; and 
that the final aim of the cabinet of St. James's 
was to overthrow the independence of the Church 
of Scotland, and bury it for ever in the crypts of 
the Home Office. 

The Commission of the General Assembly again 
met, and at the same time decided upon an answer 
to the Government, and a petition to the House of 
Commons, the only one of the three powers which 
had not yet declared itself. In a most eloquent 
speech, Chalmers asserted that the evangelical 
body must inevitably be driven from the esta- 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 441 

blisliment. and should consequently prepare with- 
out delay for this serious event. i; Come when it 
l - may," said he, ,: Scotland must not be taken by 
•• surprise, and laid helpless and hopeless at the 
" feet of her enemies. Scotland must become an 
i; experimental garden, covered with churches and 
•• with schools.'' 

This appeal of the venerable patriarch of Scot- 
land was well responded to. Xmnerous meetings 
of elders, in concert with the evangelical ministers, 
founded a provisional committee to provide for the 
approaching crisis. Every thing was prepared for 
the support of the pastors, and the erection of 
churches ; and deputations were sent throughout 
the country, commissioned to explain to the people 
the great principles, for the defence of which the 
bark of the church was about to launch into a 
dangerous sea, and to sustain the terrible collision 
of the vessel of the state. The response of the 
people was instantaneous, and the deputations were 
every where enthusiastically welcomed. ' ; The 
" martyr spirit is yet alive in Scotland," said the 
deputies on their return ; " Scotland's heart is still 
" as sound as ever." 

Associations formed all over the kingdom en- 
tered into correspondence with the Provisional 
Committee at Edinburgh. This committee issued 
weekly communications, copies of which were sent 
to the Provisional Associations, to the number of 
one hundred and fifty thousand. This mighty acti- 



442 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

vity is one of the finest features of the Scottish 
character. 

The House of Commons had not yet decided, and 
the cause of Scottish liberty was to find within its 
walls several zealous and eloquent defenders. The 
son of one of the Scottish peers, the Honourable Fox 
Maule, now Secretary-at-War, having presented to 
the House the petition of the Commission, clearly 
stated the question on the 7 th of March, and the 
motion was eloquently defended by Mr. Rutherford, 
Mr. P. M. Stuart, and Mr. Campbell of Monzie. 
An English member, who has now succeeded Sir 
James Graham in the Home Department, Sir 
George Grey, supported it with generosity and 
calmness. But it was opposed by Sir James Gra- 
ham and Sir Robert Peel. Of the Scottish mem- 
bers of the House, there were, twenty-five for the 
motion, and only twelve against it. Scotland was 
thus in favour of the liberties of the Presbyterian 
Church ; but the English and Irish formed a 
majority, who voted in a contrary direction. The 
motion was rejected, by 211 against 76. 

So voted the House of Commons. All was now 
over. The three powers had decided. All human 
tribunals had now closed their ears against the com- 
plaint of the Church. Every thing seemed to say to 
her, like the prophet, " Set thy house in order, for 
" thou shalt die." (Isaiah, xxxviii.) But there re- 
mained a refuge for the people of God within her. 
There remained for them an appeal to the heavenly 
tribunal, — to the judgment-seat of Him who 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 443 

" Mile tli and maketh alive ; who bringeth clown 
" to the grave and bringeth up." (1 Samuel, ii. 6.) 
From this time all hearts were raised to heaven, 
and all eyes were turned to the General Assembly, 
which was to meet in the month of May ; and the 
government party made every effort, in order that 
members, favourable to the decisions of the civil 
courts, should form a majority in it. The motive 
of such endeavours is evident. If the evangelical 
party should be the stronger in the Assembly, the 
church, would then, by the decision of her highest 
authority, formally renounce her union with the 
state, and the Moderates would be obliged to create 
a new church, which they wished by all means to 
avoid. The party opposed to ecclesiastical indepen- 
dence obtained their desired object, not, however, it 
would appear, without some illegal encroachments. 
There were also a few ministers who, when the 
time of trial came, were offended. When the 
trumpet called to battle, the courage of several 
cooled, and their hearts turned aside from the 
conflict. 



VII. 



THE DISRUPTION* 

A great dilemma was now set before the mi- 
nisters and members of the Church of Scotland. 



444 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" Should the church sink at once into a mere 
" secular institution, the creature and servant of 
" the State ; or should she retain her God-given 
D principles in all their holy and free integrity, and 
" resign that position and those emoluments which 
" could no longer be retained without dishonour ?" 
It was thought by many worldly people, that most 
of those who had spoken so loudly for the inde- 
pendence of the church, would fail at the last 
moment. The hour was approaching when the 
question would be resolved. 

On Monday, the 15th of May, only three days 
before the opening of the Assembly, a great 
number of ministers and elders repaired to Edin- 
burgh, to consult upon their final measures. Lord 
Aberdeen had endeavoured to avert the coming 
storm by proposals, against which Dr. Gordon, and 
Mr. Campbell of Monzie, a member of parliament, 
declared themselves in the preparatory meeting 
with much seriousness and energy. It was finally 
settled, that as soon as the General Assembly 
should meet, the evangelical body should protest, 
and then retire to form themselves into a distinct 
Assembly. Mr. Dunlop was intrusted with the 
drawing up of the protest. Thus these evangelical 
Christians of Scotland prepared to do what had 
been done three hundred and fourteeen years 
before, by their illustrious predecessors in the 
famous diet of Spire. New Protestants were to 
show themselves in the church and take their place 
in history, though on a less elevated platform, 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 445 

beside the elector of Saxony, the landgrave of 
Hesse, the deputy Sturm, and the prince of Anhalt. 
" The thing that hath been, it is that which shall 
" be ; and that which is done, is that which shall 
" be done : and there is no new thing under the 
" sun." (Eccl. i. 9.) 

The 18th of May arrived. A bright sun was 
shining in the generally cloudy sky of Scotland, 
and announced a lovely day of spring. The great 
and the noble, magistrates and ministers, elders 
and humble Christians, men and women — drawn 
together, some by fervent love for the church 
of their fathers, and others by mere curiosity, — 
thronged in animated crowds the streets of the 
ancient capital. Holyroocl, where all the year a 
dreary silence and a majestic void prevail, opened 
its gates, its courts, its ante-chambers, and its royal 
saloons. At last the Lord High Commissioner of 
her Majesty came forth with great pomp, and 
advanced slowly at the head of a long procession to 
the cathedral of St. Giles'. There, Dr. Welsh, the 
Moderator of the preceding Assembly, delivered an 
eloquent discourse on that text so full of meaning, 
"Let every one be fully persuaded in his own 
-" mind." (Rom. xiv. 5.) 

The service over, the Lord High Commissioner 
and all his suite again entered the royal carriages, 
and all proceeded towards St. Andrew's Church, 
where the General Assembly was to sit. 

The grandest spectacle that ever Scotland beheld 
was now preparing. The church was to take leave 



446 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS, 

of the state. The two societies were to give each 
other the bill of divorcement. The multitude, 
every where eager after excitement, but which 
then in Edinburgh was in a great measure 
agitated by the noblest feelings, crowded and 
jostled each other in the streets between the two 
churches of St. Giles' and St. Andrew's. A con- 
siderable body of policemen could with difficulty 
open a passage through the crowd for the Queen's 
representative. At length the brilliant procession 
passed along, and then those sons of Scotland, who 
had looked with almost an indifferent eye upon this 
splendour, were thrilled on beholding the humble 
representatives of the oppressed church, advancing 
on foot, anxious, yet grave and determined, pre- 
paring to bear testimony before the great ones 
of the nation, and, as it were, in the presence of 
the whole Church of Christ. This frail bark, which 
contained a few poor but faithful disciples, but 
where Christ " was in the hinder part of the ship, 
" asleep on a pillow," (Mark, iv. 38.) moved onward 
through the multitude, and the agitated waves 
having opened for its passage, immediately closed 
behind it. 

From an early hour in the morning, the galleries 
of St. Andrew's Church were filled with a crowd of 
spectators, who had passed many weary hours in 
expectation. Suddenly, a noise and bustle without 
announced that the moment was at hand. The 
measured tramp of slowly advancing steeds, the 
sounds of martial music, the cheers of the people, 



SCOTTISH STEUGGLES. 447 

heralded the arrival of the Queen's representative. 
He entered, and took his seat on the throne, sur- 
rounded by his pages and officers. 

The members of Assembly entered after him 
and took their places in the body of the church, 
some on the right hand, others on the left. On the 
Evangelical side, there were serious looks, grave 
faces, and that awed and solemn countenance which 
characterises men engaged in a sacred and perilous 
work. On the side of the Moderates, an em- 
barrassed and foreboding look was to be observed, 
with the consciousness that the victory now to be 
won would prove in reality a great defeat to the 
church. The Moderator, David Welsh, whom God 
has now taken to his heavenly home, opened the 
meeting with a fervent prayer. 

Then a pause ensued — no one spoke ; no one 
stirred. All was silent and motionless. Thou- 
sands of anxious hearts were waiting in expectation, 
and every man seemed to hold his breath, as in fear 
of losing one of the words that were now to be 
uttered in this sacred place, and to decide the destiny 
of the Church of God. 

The Moderator then took up the Protest which 
had been prepared, and gravely pronounced the 
following words, amidst the most profound and 
solemn silence : — 

" According to the usual form of procedure, this 
" is the time for making up the roll ; but in conse- 
" quence of certain proceedings affecting our rights 
"and privileges, — proceedings which have been 



448 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

sanctioned by Her Majesty's government and by 
the legislature of the country, and more espe- 
cially in respect that there has been an infringe- 
ment on the liberties of our constitution, so that 
we could not now constitute this Court without 
a violation of the terms of the union between 
Church and State in this land, as now authori- 
tatively declared, I must protest against our pro- 
ceeding further. The reasons that have led me 
to this conclusion are fully set forth in the docu- 
ment which I hold in my hand, and which, with 
permission of the House, I shall now proceed to 
read." He then read the protest. 
" We, the undersigned ministers and elders, 
chosen as Commissioners to the General Assembly 
of the Church of Scotland, indicted to meet this 
day, but precluded from holding the said Assem- 
bly by reason of the circumstances hereinafter set 
forth, in consequence of which a Free Assembly 
of the Church of Scotland, in accordance with 
the laws and constitutions of the said Church, 
cannot at this time be holden — 
" Considering that the legislature, by their re- 
jection of the Claim of Right adopted by the last 
General Assembly of the said Church, and their 
refusal to give redress and protection against the 
jurisdiction assumed, and the coercion of late 
repeatedly attempted to be exercised over the 
Courts of the Church in matters spiritual by the 
Civil Courts, have recognised and fixed the con- 
ditions of the Church Establishment, as hence- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 449 

forward to subsist in Scotland, to be such as 
these have been pronounced and declared by the 
said Civil Courts in their several recent decisions, 
in regard to matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, 
whereby it has been held, inter alia, — 
a 1st, That the Courts of the Church by law 
established, 'and members thereof, are liable to 
be coerced by the Civil Courts in the exercise of 
their spiritual functions ; and in particular in the 
admission to the office of the holy ministry, 
and the constitution of the pastoral relation, and 
that they are subject to be compelled to intrude 
ministers on reclaiming congregations in opposi- 
tion to the fundamental principles of the Church, 
and their views of the Word of God, and to the 
liberties of Christ's people. 

" 2d, That the said Civil Courts have power to 
interfere with and interdict the preaching of the 
Gospel and administration of ordinances as au- 
thorised and enjoined by the Church Courts of 
the Establishment. 

" 3d, That the said Civil Courts have power to 
suspend spiritual censures pronounced by the 
Church Courts of the Establishment against 
ministers and probationers of the Church, and to 
interdict their execution as to spiritual effects, 
functions, and privileges. 

" 4th, That the said Civil Courts have power to 

reduce and set aside the sentences of the Church 

Courts of the Establishment, deposing ministers 

from the office of the holy ministry, and depriving 

G G 



450 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" probationers of their license to preach the Gospel, 
" with reference to the spiritual status, functions, 
" and privileges of such ministers and probationers 
" — restoring them to the spiritual office and sta- 
" tus of which the Church Courts had deprived 
" them. 

" 5th, That the said Civil Courts have power to 
" determine on the right to sit as members of the 
" supreme and other judicatories of the church 
" by law established, and to issue interdicts against 
" sitting and voting therein, irrespective of the 
"judgment and determination of the said judi- 
" catories. 

" 6th, That the said Civil Courts have power to 
" supersede the majority of a Church Court of the 
" Establishment, in regard to the exercise of its 
" spiritual functions as a Church Court, and to 
" authorise the minority to exercise the said func- 
" tions, in opposition to the Court itself, and to the 
" superior judicatories of the Establishment. 

" 7th, That the said Civil Courts have power to 
" stay processes of discipline pending before Courts 
" of the Church by law established, and to inter- 
" diet such Courts from proceeding therein., , 

" 8th, That no pastor of a congregation can be 
^admitted into the Church Courts of the Esta- 
" -blishment, and allowed to rule, as well as to 
"teach, agreeably to the institution of the office by 
" the Head of the Church, nor to sit in any of the 
" judicatories of the Church, inferior or supreme — 
4 'and that no additional provision can be made for 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 451 

" the exercise of spiritual discipline among the 
" members of the Church, though not affecting any 
" patrimonial interests, and no alteration intro- 
" duced in the state of pastoral superintendence 
" and spiritual discipline in any parish, without the 
" sanction of a Civil Court. 

" All which jurisdiction and power on the part 
" of the said Civil Courts severally above specified, 
" whatever proceeding may have given occasion to 
" its exercise, is, in our opinion, in itself, incon- 
" sistent with Christian liberty, and with the autho- 
u rity which the Head of the Church hath conferred 
" on the Church alone. 

" And further considering, that a General As- 
" sembly, composed, in accordance with the laws 
" and fundamental principles of the Church, in part 
" of commissioners themselves admitted without 
" the sanction of the Civil Court, or chosen by 
" Presbyteries composed in part of members not 
" having that sanction, cannot be constituted as an 
"Assembly of the Establishment without disre- 
" gar ding the law and the legal conditions of the 
"same as now fixed and declared ; 

" And further considering, that such commis- 
" sioners as aforesaid would, as members of an 
"Assembly of the Establishment, be liable to be 
" interdicted from exercising their functions, and 
" to be subject to civil coercion at the instance of 
" any individual having interest who might apply 
" to the Civil Courts for that purpose ; 

" And considering further, that civil coercion 

G G 2 



452 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

has already been in divers instances applied for 
and used, whereby certain commissioners returned 
to the Assembly this day appointed to have been 
holden, have been interdicted from claiming their 
seats, and from sitting arid voting therein ; and 
certain Presbyteries have been, by interdicts 
directed against their members, prevented from 
freely choosing commissioners to the said As- 
sembly, whereby the freedom of such Assembly, 
and the liberty of election thereto, has been for- 
cibly obstructed and taken away ; 
" And further considering, that, in these circum- 
stances, a free Assembly of the Church of Scot- 
land, by law established, cannot at this time be 
hold en, and that an Assembly, in accordance 
with the fundamental principles of the Church, 
cannot be constituted in connection with the 
State without violating the conditions which 
must now, since the rejection by the legislature 
of the Church's Claim of Eight, be held to be the 
conditions of the Establishment ; 
" And considering that, while heretofore, as 
members of church judicatories ratified by law 
and recognised by the constitution of the king- 
dom, we held ourselves entitled and bound to 
exercise and maintain the jurisdiction vested in 
these judicatories with the sanction of the consti- 
tution, notwithstanding the decrees as to matters 
spiritual and ecclesiastical of the Civil Courts, 
because we could not see that the State had re- 
quired submission thereto as a condition of the 






SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 453 

" Establishment, but, on the contrary, were satis- 
" fied that the State, by the acts of the Parliament 
" of Scotland, for ever and unalterably secured to 
" this nation by the Treaty of Union, had repu- 
" diated any power in the Civil Courts to pro- 
a nounce such decrees, we are now constrained to 
" acknowledge it to be the mind and will of the 
" State, as recently declared, that such submission 
" should and does form a condition of the Esta- 
" blishment, and of the possession of the benefits 
" thereof; and that as we cannot, without commit- 
" ting what we believe to be sin — in opposition to 
"God's law — in disregard of the honour and 
" authority of Christ's crown, and in violation of 
" our own solemn vows, comply with this con- 
" dition, we cannot in conscience continue connected 
" with, and retain the benefits of an Establishment 
" to which such condition is attached. 

" We, therefore, the ministers and elders fore- 
" said, on this, the first occasion since the rejection 
" by the legislature of the Church's Claim of 
" Right, when the commissioners chosen from 
" throughout the bounds of the Church to the 
" General Assembly, appointed to have been this 
" day holden, are convened together, do protest, 
u that the conditions foresaid, while we deem them 
w contrary to and subversive of the settlement of 
" church government effected at the Revolution, 
" and solemnly guaranteed by the Act of Security 
" and Treaty of Union, are also at variance with. 
" God's Word, in opposition to the doctrines and 

G G 3 



454 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

4 fundamental principles of the Church of Scot- 
i land, inconsistent with the freedom essential to 
( the right constitution of a Church of Christ, and 
4 incompatible with the government which He, as 
4 the Head of the Church, hath therein appointed 
4 distinct from the civil magistrate. 

44 And we further protest, that any Assembly 
4 constituted in submission to the conditions now 
4 declared to be law, and under the civil coercion 
4 which has been brought to bear on the election 
4 of commissioners to the Assembly this day ap- 
4 pointed to have been holden, and on the commis- 
4 sioners chosen thereto, is not and shall not be 
4 deemed a lawful and free Assembly of the Church 
4 of Scotland, according to the original and funda- 
4 mental principles thereof; and that the Claim, 
4 Declaration, and Protest of the General Assem- 
4 bly which convened at Edinburgh in May 1842, 
4 as the act of a free and lawful Assembly of the 
4 said Church, shall be holden as setting forth the 
4 true constitution of the said Church, and that the 
4 said Claim, along with the laws of the Church 
4 now subsisting, shall in nowise be affected by 
4 whatsoever acts and proceedings of any Assembly 
4 constituted under the conditions now declared to 
4 be the law, and in submission to the coercion 
4 now imposed on the Establishment. 

44 And, finally, while firmly asserting the right 
4 and duty of the civil magistrate to maintain and 
4 support an establishment of religion in accord- 
4 ance with God's Word, and reserving to ourselves 



SCOTTISH STKUGGLES. 455 

" and our successors to strive by all lawful means, 
" as opportunity shall in God's good providence be 
" offered, to secure the performance of this duty 
" agreeably to the Scriptures, and in implement of 
" the statutes of the kingdom of Scotland, and the 
" obligations of the Treaty of Union as understood 
" by us and our ancestors, but acknowledging that 
" we do not hold ourselves at liberty to retain the 
" benefits of the Establishment, while we cannot 
" comply with the conditions now to be deemed 
" thereto attached — we protest, that in the cir- 
" cumstances in which we are placed, it is and 
"shall be lawful for us, and such other commis- 
" sioners chosen to the Assembly appointed to have 
" been this day holden, as may concur with us, 
" to withdraw to a separate place of meeting, for 
" the purpose of taking steps for ourselves and all 
" who adhere to us — maintaining with us the 
" Confession of Faith and standards of the Church 
" of Scotland, as heretofore understood — for se- 
" parating in an orderly way from the Establish- 
" ment ; and thereupon adopting such measures as 
" may be competent to us in humble dependence 
" on God's grace and the aid of the Holy Spirit, 
" for the advancement of His glory, the extension 
u of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour, and the 
" administration of the affairs of Christ's house, 
fi according to His Holy Word ; and we do now, 
" for the purpose foresaid, withdraw accordingly, 
" humbly and solemnly acknowledging the hand 
" of the Lord in the things which have come upon 

G G 4 



456 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" us, because of our manifold sins, and the sins of 
" this Church and nation ; but, at the same time, 
" with an assured conviction, that we are not re- 
" sponsible for any consequences that may follow 
" from this our enforced separation from an Esta- 
" blishment which we loved and prized — through 
" interference with conscience, the dishonour done 
" to Christ's crown, and the rejection of His sole 
" and supreme authority as King in His Church." 

The reading of the Protest was listened to in 
deep silence. When the Moderator had finished 
he left his chair, laid the document on the table 
of the Assembly, and bowing respectfully to the 
throne on which sat the representative of Her 
Majesty, gravely withdrew, and left the church. 
Minister after minister, elder after elder, — all that 
was most eminent in the Church of Scotland for 
piety, for zeal, and for talent, — now calmly rose and 
followed the Moderator, till all the benches occu- 
pied by the Evangelical members, to the left of the 
throne, were entirely empty. The Lord High 
Commissioner, whose noble heart was full of affec- 
tion for the Church of Scotland, his attendants, 
and the whole of the Moderate party, gazed upon 
the spectacle with astonishment and fear. The 
government had been assured that there were not 
thirty, not even fifteen of the members of Assem- 
bly who would leave the Establishment ; and now, 
row was added to row; a hundred, two, three 
hundred, and yet more, arose, and departed. The 
spectators in the galleries, filled with the deepest 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 457 

sympathy, could hardly suppress their deep-drawn 
sighs and enthusiastic cheers of admiration. 

The Exodus of the Church of Scotland was 
accomplishing, — the march of her leaders towards 
the door of the temple was advancing ; an angel of 
God, though invisible, was moving before them. 
They had been required to rivet the chains forged 
by illegal resolutions. They burst those disgraceful 
fetters, they threw them at the foot of the throne ; 
and poor, but free, they left those walls wherein 
their fathers had so hardily fought in the cause 
of liberty, and which powerful men were attempt- 
ing to change into a house of bondage. 

On the outside of the church, the crowd was in 
a state of eager expectation. The excited people 
were only separated by a wall from the important 
scene now transacting within, and yet could know 
nothing of what was going on. Many thought, 
that at the last hour some tardy measure of justice, 
granted by the government, would put an end to 
the difference. Others thought, that at the decisive 
moment, the hearts of the servants of the Church 
would fail them, and that they would remain, as it 
were, nailed to their seats. " Are they coming 
out ?" asked some. " They will come :" — " They 
"will not come:" — "Not seven will come out." 
Hardly were these words spoken, when the door 
opened, and the fathers of the Church of Scotland 
appeared before the multitude of their brethren. 
" Here they come ! here they come!" was shouted 
on all sides. The work was done. The Church is 



458 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

free. " Our soul is escaped, as a bird out of the 
" snare of the fowler ; the snare is broken, and we 
" are escaped." (Psalm cxxiv.) 

Hands, hats, and handkerchiefs, were waving 
in the air. Not only in the street, the stairs, the 
doors and the windows, but even on the roofs 
of the houses these signs of enthusiasm were exhi- 
bited. Wherever a foot could stand, wherever a 
hand could cling, was some son of Scotland and 
the Church, saluting with acclamations her noble 
defenders. The whole people were in a state of 
unprecedented excitement. A shout, not loud and 
piercing, — but a shout half-suppressed by deep 
emotion, a shout proceeding from the depths of the 
heart, resounded in the streets of the metropolis. 

The ministers and elders, forming a long pro- 
cession, and followed by a vast multitude, prepared 
to descend the hill to constitute a new Assembly. 
But they were not alone in taking that direction. 
Deputations from the Presbyterian churches of 
America, Ireland, and England, and from the 
Scottish seceders, had come, according to custom, 
to present to the Assembly their fraternal salu- 
tations. These deputations had to examine which 
of the two Assemblies represented the Church of 
Scotland. All of them, without hesitation, turned 
from the national pomp of St. Andrew's, and 
followed the humble footsteps of the Protesting 
Church. The Irish Presbyterians themselves, 
though supported by the English government, 
were not held back by the fear of seeing their 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 459 

Regium Donum imperilled. This is a witness 
from without which has never been retracted. 



VIII. 

THE FREE CHURCH. 

The procession moved onward. It descended 
that long and spacious street which, from the 
heights of the New Town, leads down to the valley 
wherein flows the water of Leith. The immense 
concourse that filled the street was so closely 
wedged together, that it seemed impossible for the 
ministers to make way through it. There were 
neither policemen nor soldiers to force a passage : 
but another more powerful, more sublime agent,— 
a feeling of respect, of admiration and of love, — 
was at hand to move these masses. As if by an 
instantaneous impulse, the crowd opened on the 
right and on the left, and formed in the middle of 
the street a long lane, down which four ministers 
could walk abreast. And between these double 
rows of the sons and daughters of Caledonia, ani- 
mated with the strongest emotion, with Welsh at 
the head, the only one arrayed in the Geneva gown, 
the venerable defenders of the independence of 
the Church of Christ walked calmly and steadily 
down the beautiful declivity, on whose summit the 
State sat enthroned. 



460 HISTOKICAL KECOLLECTIONS. 

The vast and plain Hall of Tanfield, — the 
Cannon Mills, in which, two years afterwards, I 
myself saw the General Assembly, had been prepared 
for the Protesters. More than three thousand 
Christians were awaiting them there. Welsh 
opened the meeting with a solemn prayer, in which 
he gave thanks to God for the strength afforded 
by His spirit to His servants in the hour of trial. 
During this prayer, sobs were audible, and the 
most manly faces were bathed in tears. When it 
ended, the whole multitude stood up to sing the 
praises of the Lord; the first hymn of the Free 
Church arose to heaven, and the Angel of the 
Covenant offered it before the throne of God 
(Rev. viii. 3.) 

On the motion of Dr. Welsh, Dr. Chalmers was 
chosen by acclamation the first Moderator of the 
Free Protesting Church of Scotland. Chalmers, 
in his opening speech, recalled the principles on 
which the step then taken had been founded. The 
Assembly received as members all the ministers 
who had signed the Protest, and an elder from 
each parish. Every thing was then prepared for 
signing the Deed of Demission. 

This act was read in the Assembly on Wed- 
nesday, the 23d of May. All other business was 
suspended, that every heart might be solemnly 
devoted to the Lord. The roll was then called. 
The ministers and elders arose by tens, moved to 
the platform behind the Moderator's chair, and 
there, with steady hearts and hands, signed the act 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. d61 

by which, for the cause of Christ, they renounced 
all their worldly goods, and their position in so- 
ciety. Many of them sacrificed all they had, even 
all their living. The amount of the revenue was 
more than a hundred thousand pounds ; which these 
brethren joyfully relinquished for the sake of Him 
who has said, " Every one that hath forsaken 
" houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or 
" mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my 
" name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and 
"shall inherit everlasting life." (Matt. xix. 29.) 
No one swerved ; young and old alike traced with 
a determined hand the few strokes which signed 
away their all. The execution of this act occupied 
five hours, and during that time, the Assembly 
remained in silent emotion, watching with respect 
the devotedness of its leaders. Four hundred and 
seventy-four ministers resigned their benefices, 
either then, or shortly afterwards ; about two 
thousand elders adhered to the act ; both numbers 
united, formed the majority of the ofiice-bearers of 
the Church. The majority of the Church members, 
in full communion, was also ranged on the side of 
liberty. 

Such was the disruption and the creation of the 
Free Church. 

But the sacrifice then accomplished in the Hall 
of Tanfield was not the greatest. The ministers 
had to return to the mountains, to the plains, even 
to the remotest shores of Scotland, to bring their 
wives and children from their homes. The hour 



462 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

was at hand when Jesus was to say in every 
manse : "If any man will come after me, let him 
" deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow 
"me." (Matt. xvi. 24.) Hundreds in Scotland 
were then fulfilling this Christian duty, and, taking 
the cross upon their shoulders, were ready to ex- 
claim, " Lord, here am I." How many scenes 
were then enacting enough to break the hardest 
heart ! 

In a certain part of the country, two ministers 
were conversing a short time before the disruption. 
" Do you think there is no chance of a settle- 
" ment ? " said the minister of the place to his 
friend. " We are as certain of being out, as that 
" the sun will rise to-morrow," replied the other. 
A groan was heard : it came from the very heart 
of the mother of the family ; they had had many 
trials in their day ; there had been cradles and 
coffins in their home, and the place was endeared 
to the mother by many associations ; there was not 
a flower, or a shrub, or a tree, that was not dear 
to her — some of them were planted by the hands 
of those who were in their graves, — and that poor 
woman's heart was like to burst. But grace was 
mightier than nature, and when the day of trial 
arrived, she came forth as readily as her husband, 
although it was breaking her very heartstrings to 
leave a home, where she had expected to breathe her 
last, and to be laid in the churchyard, among the 
ashes of her children. 

In another instance, there was a venerable mo- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 463 

ther in Christ, who had gone to the place in the 
days of her youth, when it was a wilderness, but 
who with her husband had turned it into an Eden. 
Her husband had died there. Her son was now the 
minister. That venerable widow and mother, like 
Anna the daughter of Phanuel, had seen the snows 
and sorrows of eighty years accumulate upon her 
head, and like an aged tree which has fixed its 
roots deeply in the soil, she was attached to this 
home of her youth by the dearest affections. All 
her anxieties, her prayers to God, were for two 
things : either that the Church should come to a 
right settlement with the state ; or, if that should 
fail, that then her Son should do his duty. The 
disruption came ; all was to be given up, and this 
venerable Mother in Israel was the first to go 
forth ; and she found in her new home, by the 
blessing of Christ, more health and happiness than 
she had enjoyed for a long time before. 

Some time ago, a minister was walking by moon- 
light with another, Mr. Guthrie, who is restoring 
manses to the servants of God throughout Scot- 
land. The two companions were passing before the 
beloved home which the former of them had left 
for the cause of truth. No light shone from the 
house, and no smoke rose above the roof. Pointing 
to it in the moonlight, Mr. Guthrie said, " Oh, my 
" friend, it was a noble thing to leave that house." 
" Ah yes," he replied, " it was a noble thing; 
" but, for all that, it was a bitter thing. I shall 
" never forget the night I left that house till I 



464 HISTOKICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" am laid in the grave. When I saw my wife and chil- 
" dren go forth in the gloaming, when I saw them 
" for the last time leave our own door, and when 
" in the dark I was left alone, with none but my 
" God in that house, and when I had to take water 
" and quench the "fire on my own hearth, and put 
" out the candle in my own house, and turn the 
" key against myself, and my wife, and my little 
" ones that night — God, in his mercy, grant that 
" such a night I may never see again! — it was a 
" noble thing to leave the manse, and I bless God 
" for the grace which was given to me ; but for all 
" that, it was a cruel and bitter night to me." 

In another place, in the Highlands, when the 
last evening had arrived, a poor minister placed his 
wife and children in a rough cart, and walking be- 
hind them, began to cross the mountains. A heavy 
snow storm was then raging on that elevated spot. 
The mountain was white, although it was summer 
time, and the sky was dark. This poor family 
went on amidst the driving snow and cutting wind. 
" We knew not where to find a place to dwell in," 
said the minister ; " but never did I know so much 
a of the peace of God as I did that night. Thus 
" are fulfilled the Saviour's precious promises : 
" ' The Lord is my Shepherd, 1 shall not want.' " 

The ministers, thus obliged to leave their manses 
and their churches, were not idle. On the first 
Sunday after the Assembly these faithful Servants 
of the Word of God were preaching everywhere — 
in halls, in barns, or in the fields, to great mul- 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 465 

titudes, who listened with eagerness to their words. 
The prayers and discourses were filled with a re- 
newed spirituality. The Comforter Himself taught 
his people. Never, perhaps, had the Gospel been 
so powerfully proclaimed in Scotland, to so many 
hearers hungering for the Word of Life. From 
Sabbath to Sabbath, nay, even from day to day, the 
faithful met together, the ministers preached, and 
Jesus Christ was glorified. 

How can we refuse a just tribute of admiration 
to the constitution and government of Britain, 
which thus protected in their full extent the liber- 
ties of the exiled ministers, and of their congrega- 
tions ? Yet, alas ! in many places the ill-will of the 
landlords has taken the place of the ill-will of the 
government. While the flag of modern freedom 
has been hoisted on the palace of Yictoria, the old 
and faded colours of feudal despotism still hang, 
though tattered and drooping, over the ancient tur- 
rets of some lordly mansions. At Canobie, the Free 
Christians, driven by the landlord from a waste 
land, where they had at first assembled, removed 
to the high road, and turned it into a church. At 
Wanlock-head, the congregation consisting of two 
hundred and seventy-four communicants, met in a 
wild ravine, amid rugged mountains, fi\e hundred 
yards from the village. At Torosay, in the island 
of Mull, a gravel pit served for a temple. At 
Duthill, in which there were a thousand adhe- 
rents of the Free Church, they met in a wood of 
Scotch firs, situated in a hollow. And not only at 

H H 



466 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS, 

the first moment, but up to this very hour, even 
during the last severe and tempestuous winter, 
women, children, and aged men of the above men- 
tioned churches, and many others besides, have had 
no other shelter than the arch of heaven. " Pray 
" that your flight may not be in winter," said Jesus : 
yet, one season after another, the same distresses 
have afflicted our brethren, and that, not under the 
mild sky of Palestine, but in the icy atmosphere of 
Caledonia : and the days are not yet shortened. 
In many places they preached on the sands of the 
shore, in the space left free by the retiring tide, and 
which belongs to no one but the ocean, — for once, 
more kind and generous than man. In another 
place, in a deep gully, where the cliffs are some 
hundred feet high, a hollow has been closed in from 
the sea by a barrier of rocks, down a precipice, 
where Claverhouse himself would not have sought 
his victims; and there, a minister with his con- 
gregation has raised his voice to Heaven during 
two years. The waves of the Atlantic, roaring 
around them, have afforded them a shelter which 
their haughty landlords, reclining softly in their 
London palaces, have dared to deny them. For 
the Elect's sake, May the Lord shorten these days ! 
(Mark, xiii. 20.) 

The ministers were often but little better lodged 
during the week, than their flocks were at the hour 
of worship during the Lord's Day. One minister 
and his family were so straitened for accommo- 
dation, that when they would unite in their family 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 467 

devotions, they had not even room to kneel in 
their miserable dwelling. Some ministers live in 
places as damp as cellars, where a candle will not 
burn. One is obliged to sit all day with his 
great-coat on ; another sees the curtains of his bed 
shake at night, like the sails of a ship in a storm. 
A third took refuge in a house open to every 
wind of heaven. On getting up one morning, he 
wondered to find it more comfortable than usual ; 
and looking up, he discovered that a heavy shower 
of snow had fallen, and stopped up all the crevices 
of the roof. The Lord thus makes the snow his 
minister to shelter his servants. 

Yet though the bush was burning it was not 
consumed. Nee tamen consumebatur. While these 
things were in progress, immense efforts were 
making by the evangelical people of Scotland. 
True, it might be said, " not many mighty, not 
" many noble," were among them. (1 Cor. i. 26.) 
Farmers, artisans, shop-keepers, and small pro- 
prietors, all of them living by labour, and obliged 
to use great economy — these, with a few rich mer- 
chants, and two or three noblemen, form the Free 
Church of Scotland. Nevertheless, churches were 
built throughout the land, with the assistance of 
some foreign brethren, particularly from America ; 
and after a time, six hundred of those pretty Free 
Churches, which every where arrest the attention 
of a stranger in Scotland, always pleasing, and 
yet modest in their aspect, arose as monuments of 

H H 2 



468 HISTORICAL, RECOLLECTIONS. 

the freedom and piety of her people. During the 
first year, the contributions paid into the hands of 
the treasurer amounted to 418,719/. The total 
sum gathered during the first three years was 
1,001,479/. 17<s., besides considerable sums col- 
lected for local purposes. Never perhaps was 
more mightily fulfilled these words of the Lord: 
■ — " Thou shalt have delight in the Almighty, and 
" thou shalt have plenty of silver" (Job, xxii. 23.); 
and " There is no end of thy treasures." (Isaiah, 
ii. 7.) 

In the month of March last, the number of con- 
gregations and associations adhering to the Free 
Church amounted to eight hundred and twenty- 
three ; that is a considerable increase, but there 
were one hundred and sixty-nine who had no 
minister. Happily, however, the number of Di- 
vinity students at the Free College is sufficient 
speedily to supply these vacancies. 

Notwithstanding her own necessities, the Free 
Church does not confine herself to Scotland. She 
sends her missionaries to distant lands, to the 
heathen of the Ganges, to the Jews of Europe and 
of Palestine, and ministers to the numerous colo- 
nies of Britain. Nay, more, one of her first cares 
has been to fraternize with the Evangelical churches 
of all countries ; and we know with what generosity, 
notwithstanding her poverty, and her own wants, 
she has stretched forth a helping hand towards 
the evangelization of continental Europe. 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 469 

Here we stop, giving thanks to the King of Sion 
for this work which His wisdom and His love have 
accomplished in Scotland; and praying Him to 
grant, that the Word of faith, of life, and of 
liberty, which He has so abundantly shed, and 
which He has commissioned this Church to diffuse 
over the world, may become one of those streams 
which " issue out from under the threshold of the 
'* House of the Lord," and of which the Holy Spirit 
says, that " all whithersoever the waters shall 
" come, shall live." (Ezek. xlvii. 1. 9.) 

One day, a few months since, in the north of 
Scotland, a traveller was at the foot of Benmore 
Assynt, near the lake of Assynt, which stretches its 
waters for fourteen miles among the most romantic 
mountains. The traveller was contemplating the 
castle of M'Leod, whose ancient walls rise close by 
the side of the lake. " There," said he, " is the 
" place where the Marquis of Montrose, an old rene- 
" gade and apostate, met with a renegade's fate ! 
" He betrayed the cause of truth, and was himself 
" betrayed into the hands of those who executed 
" him in Edinburgh." But another building at- 
tracted his attention still more ; the parish church, 
overshadowed by two trees which grew in the 
churchyard, and were the only ones he had seen in 
two or three days' travelling. He asked some 
persons who were standing by, how many people 
attended the church? The reply was: " The mi- 
" nister attends, and his wife attends, and two or 
" three servants, and the parochial schoolmaster." — 

H H 3 



470 HISTOKICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" You do not mean to say that these are all?" 
said he. " Why," was the answer, " there is not 
" a body — not a body — not a body more ! " In fact, 
the whole congregation had joined the Free Church. 
The traveller then went into the churchyard, but 
there was no sign of a road into the church ; it was 
all overgrown with grass. On looking through 
the window, he saw the seats and pews all 
covered with dust ; nowhere could he perceive the 
marks of human hands, except in the pulpit and 
the minister's seat. " I saw it with my own eyes," 
said he. " All this congregation had left the walls 
" where their fathers worshipped, rather than not 
" be steadfast in their struggles and their trials." 
Then the traveller, (Mr. Guthrie,) raising his eyes 
to the mountains that lifted up their lofty heads 
far above him, exclaimed, " How vain is the ex- 
" pectation of our enemies : never will they succeed 
" in breaking down the Free Church ! She will stand 
" there, as firm as her own naked mountains ; and 
" that powerful lord who is master of this country, 
u from the one sea to the other, may as soon re- 
" move Benmore Assynt, as he will weaken the 
" attachment of our people to our cause and to 
" freedom ! " 

We accept the omen. It is not the flock of As- 
synt alone that stands as firm as Benmore ; it is 
the whole Free Church of Scotland; the whole 
Assembly and Church of the First-born, spread over 
the wide world itself. Benmore may tremble; 
the Alps themselves may quake; and our own 



SCOTTISH STRUGGLES. 47 1 

Mont Blanc, removed by the Miglity Hand which 
one day shall shake both the Heavens and the Earth, 
may bow its colossal head, and fall into our lake ; 
" The mountains shall depart, and the hills be 
u removed; but my kindness shall not depart from 
" thee ; neither shall the covenant of my peace be 
" removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on 
" thee." 

But if there are promises of God, man also has 
his duties. The Church of Scotland has lately given 
proofs of mighty energy. Fidelity to her Divine 
Chief, fidelity to her forefathers and to her martyrs, 
unshaken faith, Christian life, ardent charity, un- 
bounded generosity, incessant activity, — such is 
the example which a few humble sons of Scotland 
have lately set to the Christian world ; and their 
example has already found imitators in our own 
country, — in Yaud.* But watchfulness is never 
more necessary than on the day succeeding a vic- 
tory. We all know what is meant by the recoil of 
artillery. The gun that has the heaviest charge, 
and sends its bullet to the greatest distance, is the 
piece that will recoil the most. A great forward 
movement is usually followed by one in a contrary 
direction. " That is nothing," recently exclaimed 
a Frenchman*, eminent in the church; "that is 
nothing, provided we imitate the artillery -men, — - 
restore the cannons to their place, and load and fire 
again." 

In speaking of Scotland we have already said : 

* M. le Comte Agenor de Gaspariru 

B H 4 



472 HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. 

" A revival is generally followed by a lethargy, and 
a great elevation by a great fall." Much still re- 
mains to be done by the Christians of the Free 
Church. We desire to see all Scotland — that noble 
country — united as one heart to combat under the 
standard of Christ and of the fathers. But this is 
not all. The cause of the liberty, and purity, and 
life of the church must make the tour of the globe, 
and be everywhere established. Let us all, then, 
gather courage, perseverance, and strength ! Let 
there be no recoil — no shrinking back ! 



APPENDIX, 



APPENDIX, 



Note A. 

CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF 
THE XlXtll CENTURY. 

PROTESTANTISM IN THE GERMAN PROVINCES OF RUSSIA. 

Few events in the contemporary history of the 
church appear to me of greater interest than the 
struggle at present going on between the Protestant 
churches in Kussia, and that Oriental giant, the 
power of the Greek church and of the Autocrat, 
which threatens to overwhelm them. Notwith- 
standing the indifference (this is the mildest term 
I can use) with which a former communication of 
mine, on the subject of these churches, has been 
received in England ; these events are of such a 
nature, appealing to the heart of every evangelical 
Christian, that I think it my duty to recur to them. 
I will first repeat the letter I wrote in 1846, to the 
president of the Evangelical Alliance, and after- 
wards add more circumstantial details. 



476 APPENDIX. 

Letter to Sir Culling Ea7*dley Smith, Bart* 

" Sir Culling, 

* * ^ # * # 

" The Duchies of Livonia, Courlancl, and Esthonia, 
were subdued by the Russians towards the com- 
mencement of the last century, after a most bloody 
war, in the course of which all the cities were de- 
stroyed, with the exception of Riga, Pernau, and 
Revel. A treaty made in 1710, secured to them 
the Evangelical religion, according to the Augs- 
burg Confession, as the only religion of the coun- 
try; and further treaties between Sweden (to 
whom these duchies formerly belonged) and 
Russia, such as that of Nystaedt in 1721, and of 
Aboer in 1743, moreover declared, that the church 
was to be preserved, such as it then existed. 
Any other mode of worship, excepting in the 
private houses of the foreign ambassadors, with 
closed doors, was illegal ; and the children of 
mixed marriages were brought up Protestants. 
During the time of Peter the Great, these treaties 
were observed. Under the reign of the Em- 
presses Elizabeth and Catherine II., they began 
to be neglected; and in 1794, a ukase, issued 
in 1721, with respect to the Swedish prisoners of 
war who were carried to Siberia, was applied to 
these provinces ; by virtue of which the children 

* This letter, written in French, was translated into English 
with a trifling error, which has "been here corrected. It appeared 
in several periodicals. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 477 

" of mixed marriages were obliged to be brought 
" up in the Greek religion. 

" But under the present emperor, the violation 
" of the treaties has made immense progress ; and, 
" instead of the Conservative principles which one 
" might have expected to predominate in that go- 
" vernment, the most Radical and even Revolu- 
" tionary principles seem to prevail, little as such 
" could be expected from an emperor of Russia. 

" In 1837 or 1838, a Greek bishop was fixed at 
" Riga, where there had never yet been one. For 
" a short time he remained inactive ; but soon 
" his emissaries were sent round the country to 
" labour for converts. 

" In 1841, while these provinces suffered under 
" a severe famine, the poor people were assured, 
" that if they became converts to the Greek religion 
" they should be removed into a fertile district in 
" the south of Russia, where they should be ex- 
" empted from taxes, and from military service. 
" They came to Riga in crowds, from the wish to 
" be removed into these districts : the movement 
" extended throughout the greater part of Livonia : 
" the peasants refused to work ; and the excitement 
" rose to such a pitch, that military force was 
" obliged to be called in to restore tranquillity. 
" The Greek bishop and his clergy, the authors of 
" these troubles, were removed indeed from Riga, but 
" were promoted to places of greater importance. 
" The bishop's successor at first conducted himself 
" peaceably ; only the Russian Catechism and Li- 



478 APPENDIX. 

4 turgy were translated into the language of the 
4 country (Esthonian and Lithuanian). 

44 In 1845, a Russian, named Michaelof, steward 
1 to a noble of the country, having committed a con- 
1 siderable robbery, and being discovered, hanged 
4 himself to avoid the public punishment of his 
4 crime. He was found, recovered, and sent to 
4 St. Petersburg in order to be proceeded against. 
4 As he understood the language of Lithuania, it 
4 was thought he might be useful in the country : 
4 the prosecution was withdrawn ; they made him 
4 a Russian priest, and sent him back to Lithuania, 
* where he became, under the direction of the 
4 bishop, the principal agent in the conversions. 
4 They renewed the same promises made some 
4 years before. While the first time none of the 
4 peasants had become Greeks, they hastened now 
4 to anoint all that presented themselves ; having 
4 made them sign petitions in the Russian language, 
4 which they could not understand — in which they 
4 thought they were asking the protection of the 
4 bishop for their temporal interests, but where, in 
4 fact, they made them seek to be united to the 
4 Greek Church. 

44 In February, 1845, a Greek church was esta- 
4 blished at Riga for the proselytes, where the ser- 
4 vice was held in the forenoon, according to the 
4 Greek rites, in the language of the country ; 
4 in the afternoon, the service was according to 
4 the form of worship of the Moravian Brethren, 
4 to whom the converts were before attached. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 479 

\ Michaelof was the priest of this church. At first 
4 each proselyte was richly rewarded ; now the rate 
4 is thirty copeks (about one shilling). Michaelof 
\ traversed the country, provided with money, to 
4 anoint without delay all those who wished it ; at 
4 the same time, a German called Burger, attached 
4 to the governor-general, traversed other districts 
4 to excite the same movement. It is reported 
4 that the Greek agents were provided with a magic 
4 lantern, by means of which they showed them 
4 gigantic cows and sheep, telling them that such 
4 were the animals of the country promised to 
4 them. The images, vases, and sacerdotal orna- 
4 ments required in the Russian worship, were 
4 conveyed in a car ; and the governor-general 
4 ordered that each proprietor should give the best 
4 place he was able to celebrate the Greek worship : 
4 they there fixed their pictures, &c., and anointed 
4 all who presented themselves. The Greek clergy 
4 recognise Protestant baptism, but they complete 
4 it by unction. By means of this roving church, 
4 as it has been called, sometimes even 300 men 
4 have been anointed in one day. 

44 They say to the peasants (and proved to them, 
4 by quoting Daniel xi. 38, 39., and xii. 1.), that 
4 the German Protestants were rent from the 
4 ancient Christian faith, and had fallen under the 
4 power of Antichrist, and that the Greek priest 
4 Michaelof was the great prince Michael, spoken 
4 of in Daniel xii., who fights for his people ; and 
4 that those only, who cause themselves to be in- 



480 APPENDIX. 

" scribed in Michaelof's book, would be delivered 
" from the power of Antichrist. 

" At Dorpat, and in the neighbourhood, thou- 
" sands thus presented themselves to the Greek 
" priest ; several amongst them being drunk, he 
" sent to Petersburg to inquire what he ought to 
" do in such a case ; one of the members of the 
" Senate, attached to the department of foreign 
" worship, (' des cultes etrangers,') answered, that 
" these people must be accepted, in whatever state 
" they presented themselves. 

" The movement was almost exclusively confined 
"to the men — the women were opposed to it. 
" They pulled off the crosses that had been hung 
" round their husbands' necks, trampled the 
" images under foot, and would not allow their 
" new-born infants to be baptized. All the children 
" of the converts, under seven, are considered as 
" belonging to the Greek Church ; the converts are 
" taught to make the sign of the cross ; they are 
" instructed in some outward practices ; but reli- 
" gious instruction, in the right sense, is not 
" thought of. At the time of their conversion, 
" they make them sign a declaration in the Eussian 
" language, by which they declare that it is not for 
" temporal interests that they have changed their 
" religion. 

" Those who have become Greeks by anointing 
" are definitively lost to Protestantism : whoever 
" sought to bring back a man who had been attached 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 481 

" to the Greek Church by anointing would en- 
" counter the most severe trouble. 

" The Greek religion, which had been inter- 
" dieted in these provinces by treaty, is now pub- 
" licly called i the ruling religion ; ' and the Lutheran 
" religion, which was alone to be professed, is now 
" only called a tolerated church. 

" The latest journals announce, that the efforts 
" continue for converting the Protestants of these 
" countries. A member of the Russian Senate, 
" who has distinguished himself in the labours un- 
" dertaken to re-unite the Roman Catholics to the 
" Greek Church, said, if he had only a ' carte 
" * blanche,' he would undertake, in three years, to 
" re-unite to the Greek religion all the inhabitants 
" of the three provinces of Livonia, Courland, and 
" Esthonia. Up to this time they have laboured 
" principally in the first of these (which is the 
" largest) with a view to convert it. 

" The three provinces contained, in 1831, 
" 1,500,000 inhabitants; since that time the popu- 
" lation has greatly increased. 

" No doubt a voice must be raised against these 
" efforts ; but Protestant ministers are forbidden 
" to speak of the differences of Confessions, or to 
" strengthen their parishioners beforehand against 
" adhering to the Greek Church. The Russians 
" themselves are agitated by these conversions : 
" some peasants of the governments of Witebok 
" and Pleskow, although already Greeks, have asked 
" to be registered, so that they might belong, they 

i i 



482 APPENDIX. 

" said, \ to the new religion, by which lands are 
" obtained.' 

u A few of the proselytes evince a bitter repent- 
" ance, and have asked the Governor- general's per- 
" mission to return to their religion : he has sought 
" to calm them, without granting their request, 
" which, in fact, would be impossible, as I have 
" said ; other proselytes show great obduracy and 
" contempt : ' all religions are alike indifferent to 
" ' us ; and if we have that of the Emperor, he will 
" ' know well how to protect us and give us the 
" \ lands of the nobles.' 

" Unfortunately, the Protestants themselves have 
" faults to reproach themselves with. We must 
" distinguish three classes of persons in this 
" country: — 

t* 1st, The country people or peasants, who are 
" natives of the country, and speak Esthonian and 
" Lettois ; 2d, The nobility, who are of German 
" origin, who speak German, and are descended 
" from the Teutonic Knights who conquered the 
" country seven or eight centuries ago ; 3d, The 
" Moravian Brethren, who came into these pro- 
" vinces about a century ago, and at a time when 
" faith was nearly extinguished there, as it was 
" throughout the whole Continent. They revived 
" piety there, and acquired numerous adherents, 
" the greatest number of whom are to be found 
" among the original inhabitants of the country. 
" It is reckoned that 40,000 Livonians are mem- 
" bers of the Moravian Society. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 483 

" The Lutheran pastors, vexed by seeing the 
greatest part of their flocks joining the Moravian 
meetings, caused the peasants to be forbidden to 
attend these meetings. The Government and 
the Greek clergy fomented this division between 
the Lutherans and Moravians : they then profited 
by it ; and the Bishop of Eiga was delighted to 
permit, in his new church, meetings which were 
every where else prohibited. The result was, that 
people attached to the Moravians, (who are the 
most pious in the country,) went to be registered, 
in order that they might become Greeks ; and 
their example has had a great influence upon 
their fellow-citizens. The influence of the Mora- 
vians has been good, as relates to the pious senti- 
ments of the heart ; but it appears that they 
have taught their adherents to attach little im- 
portance to outward forms of the church, so that 
these have passed easily from the Protestant to 
the Greek form. 

" The people are thus irritated at the same time 
against their lords and against their pastors, 
both of whom are Germans. They look upon 
the former as opposed to their temporal interests, 
and to the latter as opposed to their spiritual 
interests ; and blindly throw themselves into the 
arms of the Kussians and Greek clergy. 
" The nobility and the pastors begin to feel their 
duties ; several amongst them have done so for a 
long time ; but the actual tribulation appears to 

have opened the eyes of those who, until the pre- 

II 2 



484 APPENDIX. 

" sent moment, had them closed. They seek to be 
" reconciled to the people, and to do them good ; 
" they would wish to keep them in the Evangelical 
" faith, but it is to be feared it is too late. 

" Pious Christians in these countries — and they 
" are pretty numerous — are greatly afflicted; they 
" cry to God ; they meet for prayer; they ask their 
" brethren to intercede for them at the throne of 
" grace ; but they are persuaded that they can in 
" no other way help them. 

" These are the most faithful subjects of the 
" Russian empire; when there were revolutions in 
" Russia, they were orderly and quiet, knowing 
" that God requires obedience to the higher powers; 
" and they would, therefore, now fear any pro- 
" ceeding, that could call in question their loyalty 
" and obedience to their sovereign. 

" The only object of this letter is, to beg of you 

" to communicate to the brethren assembled in 

" London, the dangers which threaten to uproot 

" three of the most ancient Protestant Churches of 

" Europe ; and to commend this object to the 

" prayers of all. I know not whether you will be 

" able to do more. 

" Merle D'Aubigne." 

The limits of a letter did not permit me, in writ- 
ing to my honourable friend, Sir Culling Eardley, 
to enter further into particulars. I intend to do 
so in this place. But wishing to remain an impar- 
tial historian, I content myself with quoting some 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 485 

most credible documents upon which my statements 
are founded. This narrative will, therefore, be 
composed essentially of extracts : its authenticity 
will thus be unquestionable, and it perhaps may 
not lose in interest by this circumstance. 

In speaking of impartiality, I do not mean to 
say that I am undecided in this contest between 
the Greeks and the Lutherans, between the Russians 
and the Livonians. All my sympathy is with the 
latter. But there is another struggle besides, — 
that between the Moravians and the Lutherans, — 
and in this it is more difficult to decide. In some 
respects I lean towards the Moravians. They 
have in their favour two causes very dear to 
me, — those of piety, and of freedom. But we 
must render unto every one his due. There is 
also much to be said in favour of the Lutherans ; 
and at this time, when the Protestant Church of 
Livonia is engaged in so terrible a conflict with an 
antagonist so powerful, who can refuse to her this 
just tribute of respect, compassion, and love ? 



THE LUTHERANS AND THE MORAVIANS. 

The community of Hernhutt has exercised its 
Christian activity in the Germanic duchies of Russia 

I t 3 



486 APPENDIX. 

ever since the earliest times of its formation. A 
dead orthodoxy was then reigning there, and the 
Moravian Brethren (whom the church of Christ has 
always reckoned among her most valued witnesses) 
sought to win souls to the Saviour. Christian 
David first visited the duchies in 1729. Nitschmann 
went thither in 1731, and the excellent Count Zin- 
zendorf, that disciple of Christ, in whom the features 
of St. Paul and St. John were blended together, 
repaired to Eevel in 1736. 

The Lutheran Church soon opposed the work of 
the Brethren ; and in 1744 an act of Consistory 
was decreed, forbidding the Moravian labourers 
from being received into a church without the per- 
mission of the Consistory. This, however, could 
not impede the Moravians, since, conformably to 
their principles, they were only to offer themselves 
to the national ministers, as assistants in bringing 
souls to Christ, carefully abstaining from any in- 
fringement of ecclesiastical order. 

Nevertheless, difficulties soon presented them- 
selves. We will here quote a report made to the 
Synod of Linden, on the 12th June, 1845, by one 
of the most respected ministers of that country. 
But we will previously communicate a few remarks, 
which were sent to us in a private letter, in refer- 
ence, to this valuable document : — " This report," 
says a Livonian correspondent, " has been communi- 
" cated to the elders of the United Brethren, and 
" they have received it with all the charity and im- 
" partiality which was to be expected from true dis- 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 487 

" ciples of Christ. They have not given utterance 
" to the least contradiction, to the slightest blame ; 
" but they assert, that they well understand that 
" the interference of a third party in the care of 
" souls must be most painful to a faithful pastor ; 
" adding, that they would not themselves willingly 
" be placed in the situation of such a pastor, and 
" manifesting the desire of seeing a good under- 
" standing restored between the Moravians and the 
" Lutherans." 

We now come to what is said on the Lutheran 
and Moravian discussions in the official Report 
made to the Synod of Linden : — 

" The National Church has reason to complain 
" that the (Moravian) Brethren have overstepped 
" the limits prescribed to them ; that they have 
" established an ecclesiastical and isolated agency 
a of their own, and have thus brought about a per- 
" nicious separatism. The National Church may 
" have cause to reproach herself for having, by her 
" dead orthodoxy, and afterwards by her decided ra- 
" tionalism and worldly indifference, occasioned this 
" state of things. Yet, since the life-giving breath 
" of God, more than ten years ago, awoke her from 
" her slumber, she could no longer keep silence on 
" this subject."* 

An interference of the civil power seems to have 
had some influence over the circumstances in 
question. " In 1817, the emperor granted a let- 
" ter of privilege (Frey Brief) to the Moravian 

* Report made to the Synod of Linden, 12th June, 1845. 

ii 4 



488 APPENDIX. 

" Church for Livonia and Esthonia. By this act 
" the Protestant Church beheld her unity endan- 
" gered. In fact, this church had hitherto been as 
" one, independent in all essential matters of the 
|; heterodox (Greek) power of the state. Now, the 
" church of the Brethren (which doubtless belongs 
" to the Evangelical Church) was entirely separated, 
" in her administration and her representation, from 
" the Evangelical Church of the country, and placed 
" directly under the protection of a civil and hete- 
" rodox ministry. This heterodox state soon found 
" it to be its interest to put in practice, with respect 
" to these two branches of the same tree, the maxim, 
" Divide et impera. The Lord has sent such 
" judgments upon the Evangelical Church in order 
" to save the one that may be enabled still to con- 
" tinue such. His judgments against Judah and 
" Israel were according to the decrees of his righte- 
" ousness, but also according to those of his grace."* 
We will only add, that if the Moravians were de- 
sirous of the privilege which the state then granted 
them, they probably were so on account of the 
difficulties thrown in their way by the Lutheran 
Church. 

Between 1830 and 1834, a new life began in the 
churches of Livonia. " Amidst the judgments that 
" weighed her down, the church was reviving ac- 
" cording to the ancient adage, Ecclesia pressa, eccle- 
" sia victrix. The Lord had raised up within her 

* Letter of a Pilgrim to the Heavenly Canaan (Eines Mit- 
pilgers ins Himmlische Canaan). 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 489 

' faithful servants, preachers of his gracious coun- 
' sels. But a new generation of pastors having 
' entered into office, found the mass of the people 
' lying in ignorance, indifferent as to salvation, like 
1 scattered and wandering sheep. Only a small 
' number of them were anxious as to their eternal 
' salvation ; but these Christians, attached to the 
' directors and the deacons of the Moravian Brethren 
4 generally, considered the pastors of the Evangeli- 
' cal Church (without making much distinction 
8 among them) as unbelievers, who filled the minis- 
' terial office only for the sake of providing for 
1 their temporal wants. 

We return to the Report of the Synod of Lin- 
den: — 

" The Moravian deacons, instead of seeking kindly 
' intercourse with the Livonian pastors, rather 
' avoided them ; and latterly, it was precisely with 
' the most evangelical of the Lutheran ministers 
' that they were on the worst terms ; while they 
1 were on a very friendly footing with those of the 
' pastors who were still imbued with the spirit of 
' the last century. It cannot be denied that many 
'of the Moravian labourers possessed extensive 
- knowledge, and even valuable gifts ; but the 
' church cannot approve of some of their views. 
' ' We are the good seed,' said they ; ' those who 
4 ' are not Moravians are the tares. Hernhutt is 
' ' the true church, the city set on a hill, the church 

* Letter of a Pilgrim to the Heavenly Canaan (Eines Mit- 
pilgers ins Hinmilische Canaan). 



490 APPENDIX. 

" l of the first-born ; the Lutheran and the other 
u \ churches form the church of this world.' "* 

An ever-increasing opposition was thus formed 
by the Lutherans against the Moravians, and it 
must be owned, this opposition frequently proceeded 
from feelings very contrary to the Gospel. They 
falsely confounded the religion of the Moravians 
with pietism and mysticism ; they called all truly 
evangelical Christians Moravians or Hernhutters. 
The Lutherans often acted quite otherwise than 
St. Paul; they took counsel of flesh and blood. 
They desired to forbid the free assemblies of the 
faithful, the free prayers of Christian people, the 
industry of the Moravian labourers. Thus the 
Lutheran Church exhibited another instance of that 
intolerance to which a predominant church is so 
easily prone. In this, every evangelical Christian 
will not hesitate to side with the Moravians, and 
to plead their cause, which was that of liberty and 
piety. 



II. 

THE CONVERSIONS TO THE GREEK CHURCH. 

The Livonian Church was punished for her in- 
tolerance ; for soon afterwards conversions to the 
Greek Church were commenced within her pale. 

* Report to the Synod of Linden. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 491 

" There were at Riga among the Lettes* several 
" Moravians, who had come thither to work at their 
" trades, or in manufactories. The Moravian deacon, 
" Neumann, presided at their meetings ; but these 
" people were discontented, because every thing 
" was not done according to the usual manner. 
" They consequently applied to the Lutheran 
" ministers of the town. One of these, the Pastor 
" Frey, allowed them meetings, which he either 
" conducted himself, or caused to be conducted ; 
u but learning that the proceedings of one of these 
" meetings had not been according to his wish, he 
" put a stop to them. These people then addressed. 
" themselves to the Greek bishop, at the instigation, 
" it appears, of two men, Charles Ernst, and Peter 
" Ballohd, the latter of whom had formerly been a 
" Moravian Evangelist labourer. The men who 
" went to the bishop related in triumph to the 
u deacon, Neumann, that the bishop had received 
" them very courteously ; that he had asked for 
" their books, which he had returned some time 
" after, saying, that they were very good ones, and 
" that he had permitted them to hold their assem- 
" blies on Sundays, at the same hour as the churches. 
" It is even added, that he gave them a paper, which 
" they were to show in case the police should be 
" inclined to disturb them. At the sight of this 

* It is well known that the Lettes form the mass of the 
population in Lithuania, in Esthonia, in Courland, in Semi-Galle, 
especially in the country parts. They belong to the Lithuanian 
race. The Lettish language has two principal dialects, the pure 
Lettish and the Semi-Gall. 



492 APPENDIX. 

" paper, it was said, ' the director of the police 
" ' would take off his hat.' "* 

Such was the first phasis of these events ; now 
comes the second. 

" About the end of February, or the beginning 
" of March (1845), a report was all at once noised 
" through the town (Kiga) that a petition for the 
" founding of a Greek Lettish church had been 
" presented. On further inquiries, this much was 
u afterwards ascertained on the subject : — A Let- 
" tish petition, signed by eleven Lettes, had been 
" transmitted to the bishop, to the following pur- 
" port. The petitioners desired to come over to 
" the Orthodox church (pareisitiz ziga), on condition 
" that a separate church should be assigned to 
" them, and a separate service in the Lettish lan- 
" guage ; that Ballohd should be given them as 
" Mahzitais (pastor), and Charles Ernst, as director 
" of the church ; that they should be allowed to use 
u their Lettish hymns, &c. This petition was trans- 
u lated into Russian by the bishop's secretary, and 
u the petitioners were requested to allow their sig- 
" natures to be legalised by the police. It was ascer- 
" tained, that besides the eleven subscribers, about 
" an equal number of Lettes had appeared before 
" the police ; that one of them, being spokesman, 
--' had complained of the Lutheran pastors of the 
" town, stating, that they would not allow them 

* Memorial of Professor Ulmann. We must not confound 
him with the Dr. Ullmann of Heidelberg, mentioned elsewhere. 
Ths one now spoken of was a professor in a Russian university. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 493 

" liberty as to their faith, and adding, that many 
" others (three hundred, according to some ac- 
" counts) had the same intentions as themselves." * 

The report laid before the Synod of Linden, 12th 
June, 1845, contains exactly the same facts. It is 
unnecessary to repeat them. 

It must here be observed, that according to the 
documents now before us, the people who, in the 
German duchies of Russia, are attached to the Mo- 
ravians, may be arranged under three categories. 
One of these documents has the following statement 
respecting this : — " The church of the Brethren 
" does not, in these duchies, form distinct commu- 
" nities, as at Hernhutt, Neuwied, &c. The Bre- 
" thren are in Diaspora (dispersion) ; they are 
" members of the predominant church, and attend 
" worship with it. But they have besides meetings 
" among themselves in the different parishes, con- 
" ducted by directors or readers, who are them- 
" selves under the rule of the deacons of the church 
" of the Brethren. These meetings are of two kinds, 
" the larger or public, and the smaller or select. 
"All who desire to be edified may attend the 
" larger meetings. But as to the smaller ones, those 
(i only are admitted who, after a formal reception, 
- 4 have become members of the Church of the 
" Brethren in Diaspora. Those who have long 
" attended the larger assemblies, and who are 
" recommended by the directors, may apply for 

* Professor Ulniann's Memorial. 



4:94 



APPENDIX. 



" membership. Nevertheless, they are received 
" only when the lot has decided in their favour. 
" This custom has been vigorously attacked by the 
" Protestant Church. Yet we must distinguish 
" from these church members, (these brethren in 
" Diaspora,) those who inhabit places where there is 
" a Moravian church, such as Hernhutt and Neu- 
" wied, in Germany, and Sarepta, in Eussia. These 
" latter are the Hernhutt ers properly so called. 
" With the exception of the Moravian deacons sent 
" to Livonia, by the Conference of the Elders, we 
"find in these duchies but few Moravians of this 
" description.' 7 * 

The same document contains the following in- 
formation, as to the fact of the petition. 

" The eleven Lettes who applied to the Greek 
" Bishop of Kiga, in order to remove from the 
" Evangelical to the Greek Church, were inha- 
" bitants of Riga. They were men who had at 
" least frequently attended the public assemblies 
u of the Church of the Brethren. As to the question 
" whether they had been formerly admitted Mem- 
" bers of the Church of the Brethren in Diaspora, 
" this cannot be ascertained with regard to every 
" individual, as there exists no official list of the 
" members. But in the official deeds (in offtciellen 
u Schreibenf) they are designated as Members in 

* Letter of a Pilgrim to the Heavenly Canaan. 

f The author probably means the acts of the government, or 
of the Greek Church, where the converts are not individually, 
but collectively mentioned. 



PROTESTANTISM IX RUSSIA. 495 

" Diaspora. The motive which these eleven Lettes 
" state officially as the reason of their conversion, 
" strengthens the supposition, that they were all 
" members of the Church of the Brethren in Dia- 
u spora ; for they complain, in their petition, that 
" the Lutheran pastors of Riga prevented them 
" from holding their meetings among themselves, 
u \ after the manner of the Church of the Brethren;' 
" and if they wished to enter within the pale of 
" the Church, it was because an impostor of the 
" Greek Confession, a man convicted of theft, 
" Michaelof, had told them that in the Greek 
" Church, they would be allowed their meetings in 
" the Lettish language, after the manner of the 
" Church of the Brethren."* 

The work of proselytism by the Greek Church 
extended more and more. We continue our ex- 
tracts: — 

" The proselytism of the bishop, particularly by 
" means of Charles Ernst, still continued. This 
" latter was indefatigable : he visited people, and 
" induced them to give in their names, as being 
" desirous of obtaining from the bishop the liberty 
" of holding their Hernhutt assemblies. "When any 
" one consented to this, his name was subscribed. 
" . . . We are certainly informed, that forty 
" Lettes received the unction on the 29th of April, in 
" the bishop's chapel. Previous to Easter, a Russian 

* Letter of a Pilgrim. 



496 APPENDIX. 

" church, that of the Cemetery of Riga, had been 
" assigned to the Lettes. In this church there 
" was a Greco-Lettish worship, and Moravian meet- 
" ings, and people were summoned to both kinds of 
" assemblies in the same manner. The author of 
" this memorial, and other persons worthy of 
" credence, are themselves cognisant of the fact. 
" Michaelof, having become a Greek priest, con- 
" ducted the worship according to the Greek Li- 
" turgy, in the Lettish language. In the same 
" place, Ballohd presided over the Moravian meet- 
" ings, in which they sang, and read sermons taken 
u from Lutheran books ; and in this manner were 
" the people attracted and led astray. On Easter 
" Sunday, at the afternoon service, the bishop 
" attended a meeting of this kind. He walked 
" through the assembly, remained for a quarter of 
" an hour behind the Iconostas, and again walked 
" through the Assembly ; his hands were kissed, 
" and he gave the blessing."* 

We will follow this account no farther. Every 
one knows that the conversions from Protes- 
tantism to the Greek Church have since made con- 
siderable progress. It is enough to have seen 
their commencement. 

* Memorial of Professor Ulmann. 



PROTESTANTISM IX RUSSIA. 4!) 7 

III. 

THE SYNOD, OR PEACE. 

It can be doubted by no one, that these conver- 
sions have caused great sorrow to the worthy elders 
of Hernhutt, and all other pious and enlightened 
Moravians. It is sufficient to be acquainted with 
the living Christianity of these brethren, to be 
certain that no one, either within the Russian 
duchies or elsewhere, would be more grieved than 
they were, to see Protestants leaving the Scrip- 
tural worship, in order to go over to the adoration 
of legends and pictures. We are even convinced, 
(though the documents we have before us say 
nothing of the fact,) that the conversions which are 
now taking place are especially, if not exclusively, 
among those Protestants who are in no way be- 
longing to the Moravian church. But it is easy to 
understand, that the facts stated in the documents 
we have quoted, must have rendered the intercourse 
between the ministers of the National Church and 
the Moravian Brethren more unpleasant than ever 
to both. 

To consider what was to be done with regard to 
this matter, was one of the objects of the Synod 
which assembled at Linden, the 12th June, 1845. 
There existed among many of the Lutherans a 
very decided feeling, that the best way would be 

K K 



498 APPENDIX. 

" to break connection entirely with the agents of 
u the community of the Brethren, and to establish 
" in the Lutheran parishes services of a nature 
" calculated to satisfy the adherents of the Mora- 
" vians."* 

But though there were some St. Peters anions 
them, there were also some St. Johns. The pious 
author of the Report we have often quoted, who 
was a member of this Synod, advanced a very dif- 
ferent opinion. This is what he says : " Never 
u can I give my vote, that the Brethren should be 
" requested to withdraw themselves, by saying 
" to them, ' Depart from us.' It is unlikely, very 
" unlikely, that the Brethren will go away ; and 
" were they even to do so, it is doubtful whether 
" peace would be thus restored to the church. It 
" is doubtful whether each one of our pastors po's- 
" sesses the gifts, the prudence, and the charity 
" requisite to conduct these meetings, and to 
" satisfy those who frequent them, after the German 
" labourers have withdrawn. It is doubtful whether 
" the departure of the Moravian Brethren may not 
" bring about a directly opposite result to that 
u which is desired, and engender a separatism 
" which it will be still more difficult to destroy." f 

This pious minister then proceeds to examine the 
means to be adopted ; and what he says on this 
subject is too beautiful, too well calculated to clis- 

* Memorial of Professor Ulna aim. 

| Report made to the Synod of Linden. 



rilOTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 4t$$ 

play the spirit which animates many of the leaders 
of the Lutheran Church in Livonia, and too worthy 
of being imitated in other countries, for us not to 
feel great pleasure in quoting it. 

" What is then to be done?" he says to the 
Synod. " This, in my opinion, is the first thing 
" we have to do ; a thing which is absolutely neces- 
" sary, and which cannot fail of being a most 
" powerful means. It is that we, the preachers 
u and ministers of the work of reconciliation, should 
" preach Christ with living power, not only by our 
" words, but also by our behaviour ; and that we 
u should devote ourselves to the salvation of every 
a soul committed to us, with more love and faith* 
" fulness than we have hitherto done. When has 
" separatism been overcome in any other way, than 
" by the pure preaching of the Cross, by the vivi- 
u fying proclamation of the Gospel, by ardent love 
" to the Lord, and to every one of the souls that 
" he has redeemed at so great a ransom, and by 
" faithful labour in the Lord's vineyard ? Preach 
" in your pulpits Jesus Christ as the savour of life 
" unto life. (2 Cor. ii. 16.) Preach Christ out of the 
" abundance of a heart which has learned to know 
" him as a Saviour ; and thus will you drive away all 
" deceitful spirits; you will scatter all the assemblies 
n of a false worship; you will empty the conven- 
" tides and fill your churches. Love each soul in 
" your parish according to the Lord's will, and that 
" love will bring down the walls of separatism. 
a If, in your parish, there are no Hern butters, 



500 APPENDIX. 

" cause Presbyterian institutions to be set up 
" within them, such as the church ought to possess 
" in her normal state. Bestow on your congre- 
" gations, by Bible and Missionary meetings, and by 
" pastoral visits to the cottage of each of our 
" peasants, bestow on them, in this way, as much, 
" nay, even more than the Moravians have to offer 
" to their adherents. This is what one of our 
" brethren has undertaken to do for some years 
" past, and he has reaped abundant blessings for 
" his flock, and immeasurable comfort to his own 
" heart. Labour both in your study, and in the 
" sacred house of God, whether for the scientific 
" cultivation of your own minds, or for the practical 
" fulfilment of your functions ; whether for the 
" great work of the church, or for the salvation of 
" a single soul. Labour on! But never work with- 
" out prayer, without fervently calling upon the 
" name of Jesus. Never let time be wanting for 
" this occupation. Luther could manage to find 
" three hours a day for this holy work. Pray, 
" read, unite yourselves more and more closely 
'• with the Word of God. Never act, never cora- 
" bat, without taking hold by faith of the sword of 
fi the Spirit. Drive the Pope out of your own 
" hearts ; and before you pretend to overcome that 
" false spirituality which is itself nothing but an 
" overweening pride, first become humble your- 
" selves. Bear with wisdom and with mildness 
" the faults of the sickly and the weak. Never 
" exaggerate the claims of your ministry ; and 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 503 

" when you have to deal with Moravian labourers, 
" never present yourselves before them as adver- 
" saries, or even as superiors commissioned to in- 
" spect them, but as friends and brethren, who 
" agree with them in essential things. Never keep 
" yourselves, your wives, and y@ur children at a 
" distance from the members of your congre- 
w gations ; never stand aloof upon the haughty 
u footing of your noble birth*, but live among 
" them as friends, as fathers. Be upon the same scale 
" close beside them ; stand before the cottages of our 
" peasantry. Open to the meanest of your parish- 
" ioners your own door, your own heart, vour own 
" purse. Thus the former love of the flocks towards 
" their pastors will revive, even among the Hern- 
" hutters. They will no longer call you Pasaules 
" Mahzitaji* that is to say, preachers of the world ; 
" still less will they regard you as PasauHgi, that 
" is to say, worldly men. They will behold you as 
" their faithful, their beloved, their venerated shep- 
" herds, teachers, and fathers ! In truth, if, after an 
" experience of twenty-four years, I were called upon 
u to answer this question, ' What has been wanting 
" ' to the church ? ' I should be obliged to answer, 
" with bitter tears of repentance, i \Yhat has been 
" 'wanting, has been above all tilings — myself! 

* It is well known that the common people of the German 
duchies of Russia are descended from the original inhabitants 
of the country formerly conquered by the Teutonic knights, and 
are distinguished by language and otherwise from the descend- 
ants of the kirisrhts. 



502 APPENDIX. 

" ' ray own charity, my own faithfulness, my own 
" ' vitality!' M 

So spoke in the Synod of Linden that venerable 
Livonian minister. 

This discourse is one of the finest pages in the 
annals of the church. History will preserve it. I 
esteem myself happy in having been called upon to 
make it known to my brethren. Were there even 
nothing else in this note, 1 should not have written 
it in vain. I am sure that the Holy Spirit will 
re-echo these noble accents in the hearts of many of 
his servants. 

This godly minister did not stop here. He 
laid before the Synod the rule of conduct which the 
ministers of the National Church should pursue, 
in order to co-operate peaceably with the Moravian 
labourers in the advancement of the kingdom ot 
God within the church. These regulations display 
admirable wisdom. There are twelve of them. 
For the sake of brevity, I will mention only one, 
the eleventh : " The pastor should regularly, at 
" least once a year, hold a conference with the 
" Moravian deacon and elder who labour among 
" his flock. Not only would they thus endeavour, 
" mutually, to keep up and strengthen a good 
u understanding between them ; but the pastor 
u would also receive the necessary information in 
% the advancement of the work of the Brethren." t 

* Report made to the Synod of Linden. f Ibid. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. §08 

This plan has not been unavailing. Thence- 
forward the pastors and the Moravian labourers 
have proceeded with more harmony in the work of 
God. 

This was possible ; for the evangelical ministers 
of Livonia, and the Christians who are among the 
lay nobility, and who are still more numerous, 
would join themselves to the successors of Zinzendorf 
and Spangenberg. They have the same God; the 
same salvation, the same Holy Spirit. Unfor- 
tunately, besides the Evangelical party, there 
has latterly been formed a High Church party, 
that threatens, it is reported, -f to repay the Mora- 
u vian labourers with interest for the annoyances 
" which, for some years past, they have caused to 
" the church." May God remove these new con- 
tentions from that poor country ! 

I will conclude this note, by quoting the fervent 
wishes expressed in Livonia, by one of the lay 
members, who is placed in a most elevated station 
in that country and in that church. " May the Lord 
u have mercy on his church, and not punish her 
" according to her iniquity, but look upon her 
" through the merits of Him who became her surety 
u upon the cross, and for the sake of the holy name 
" of Jesus, grant her forgiveness ! May He, in all 
" places, inspire the members of his Church Uni- 
" versal to offer up fervent prayers for suffering 
" brethren ; for wherever one member suffers, the 
" whole body sutlers with it. May He bless you a 
" thousandfold with the fulness of his spirit, and 



504 APPENDIX. 

" the abundance of his peace, man beloved, and 
" thus make you amends for all the struggles and 
" the troubles you have had to endure for the sake 
" of a sick member of his body, the Evangelical 
" Church of Livonia. May He, in his grace, grant 
" me one day to see your face ; and if not on this 
" earth, may it be, at least, before the throne of the 
" Lamb that has been slain for you and for me ! " 

I therefore once more lift up my voice to make 
known to my brethren of England, of Scotland, and 
of America, that Church of Livonia whose leaders, 
are descended from those valiant knights who 
devoted themselves, in the Middle Ages, to provide 
for the relief of sick or wounded Crusaders, and to 
defend against the attacks of the Saracens all those 
poor Christians who went to bow the knee on the 
hills of Jerusalem.* Their children now know 
better things : they have heard the voice of Jesus, 
saying unto them, " Ye shall no longer, neither in 
" this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the 
" Father. God is a Spirit, and they that worship 
" him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
(John, iv. 21. 24.) I therefore say, once again, to 
my fellow-christians : You have brethren who are 
groaning in distress, who claim your prayers, who 
need your sympathy. Will you not hearken to 
them ? Once before, I have stated these things. 
The Evangelical Alliance for Christian Union has 
held many meetings, has made many speeches, or- 

* The Teutonic Knights. 



PROTESTANTISM IN RUSSIA. 505 

ganisations, and regulations ; but I do not know 
that they have paid attention to what has been told 
them of the sufferings and the tears of their bre- 
thren. What will an Evangelical Alliance do, if it 
loves not the suffering members of Jesus Christ, 
and shows this love in some way ? I am not only 
a friend to the Evangelical Alliance, I am also a 
member and a defender of it ; but it is precisely on 
account of the respect I bear it, that I demand of 
it to become what it ought to be, and to fulfil its 
commission. " My little children, let us not love in 
" word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in 
"truth." (1 John, iii. 18.) 

I hope that the voice I have now raised will not be 
altogether raised in vain. Even if no more positive 
demonstrations take place, I hope, at least, that 
some of my readers will hold out a brotherly hand 
to that respected minister of the Synod of Linden, 
whose eloquent and Christian discourse we have 
now heard, and to all the brethren and sisters 
around him. I hope that many a prayer will be 
offered up in private in behalf of this suffering 
church, and that she will thereby be comforted 
and strengthened, through the power of the Holy 
Ghost. 

I had previously suggested a respectful petition 
to the Emperor of Russia, and a fraternal address 
to the churches of Livonia, The former of these 
communications may be of no avail ; but the latter 
would no doubt prove a balm to those bruised 
hearts. 

L L 



506 APPENDIX. 

I have stated these facts in their naked truth. 
I have quoted the documents themselves. I have 
allowed those to speak who have a rightful interest 
in the matter. I may now keep silence, and this 
shall be my last word on the subject. 

Some, even of the godly, may occasionally forget 
this evangelical precept : " Prove all things : hold 
" fast that which is good." (1 Thess. v. 21.) They 
may, without sufficient examination, decide in favour 
of erroneous accounts. I have had some experience 
of it. But no matter. Error is error notwith- 
standing, and truth is truth. There is the voice of 
history ; — a voice sincere, solemn, and holy ; and 
to this voice does victory belong. Excuses and 
prejudices all pass away. But the voice of history 
still remains, because it is the voice of truth. We 
have advanced nothing rashly : what we have as- 
serted we can prove ; and we hope always to be 
able to say, with Saint Paul, We spake all things 
to you in truth, (2 Cor. vii. 14.) 



THE END. 



London : 

Spottiswoodk and Shaw, 

New-street- Square. 



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